Defender Capital LLC. Has $10.76 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Defender Capital LLC. cut its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,134 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 620 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 3.6% of Defender Capital LLC.'s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Defender Capital LLC.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $1,016.00 target price for the company. Gordon Haskett raised Costco Wholesale from an "accumulate" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $925.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $894.57.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.8 %

COST stock traded up $6.72 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $893.49. The stock had a trading volume of 1,189,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,937,714. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $889.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $835.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $396.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.99, a PEG ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $540.23 and a twelve month high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company's revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,224 shares of company stock worth $9,974,973. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.