Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Acquired by Blossom Wealth Management

Blossom Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 763 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.3% of Blossom Wealth Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Blossom Wealth Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $755,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,436,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at $236,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $3,095,000. Rossmore Private Capital lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 6,687 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,325,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at about $241,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price target on Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,130.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,069.58.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock opened at $915.95 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $955.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $971.07. The company has a market capitalization of $406.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.30, a PEG ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $867.16 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released 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. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 31.10%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.