Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 360 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Verdence Capital Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.5%, selling 360 shares during the second quarter, bringing its total ownership to 13,922 shares valued at approximately $13.78 million.
• Notable institutional investors have made significant changes to their positions in Costco, with Nuveen LLC acquiring a $3.46 billion stake and Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosting its holdings by an astonishing 2,369.5%.
• Costco recently reported earnings of $5.87 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates, with revenues reaching $86.16 billion, an 8.1% increase year-over-year.

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,922 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 360 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 0.9% of Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,461,159,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 418,980.3% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 2,359,422 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,335,686,000 after buying an additional 2,358,859 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $40,332,515,000 after buying an additional 443,101 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 84.0% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 812,188 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $768,114,000 after buying an additional 370,806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2,369.5% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 323,288 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $320,036,000 after buying an additional 310,197 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $935.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $867.34 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $414.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.38, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.98. The stock's fifty day moving average is $951.65 and its 200 day moving average is $972.04.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.15 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Truist Financial cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,066.23.

About Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding COST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.