Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Lowers Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI trimmed its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,844 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,246 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $22,911,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,745,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the second quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,737,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,518,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Perkins Coie Trust Co raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the third quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,675 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,144,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 358 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on COST. Tigress Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $980.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $950.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $1,016.00 target price for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $20.97 during trading on Thursday, reaching $949.05. The company had a trading volume of 883,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,921,648. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $420.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a fifty day moving average of $899.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $862.71. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $582.83 and a 12 month high of $962.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.86 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 28.00%.

Costco Wholesale Profile

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.