Veracity Capital LLC Reduces Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Veracity Capital LLC cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 751 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 686 shares during the period. Veracity Capital LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 26.6% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 207,426 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $196,179,000 after purchasing an additional 43,539 shares during the period. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.8% during the first quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 835 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $841,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arista Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.8% during the first quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,729 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,527,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $862.65 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $844.06 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market cap of $382.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.21, a P/E/G ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $913.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $947.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.07. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 29.35%. The company had revenue of $67.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.04 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 27.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,025.00 to $1,027.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $991.39.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total value of $2,526,336.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. This represents a 28.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.