J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Acquires 1,481 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,707 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,481 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $48,206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $61,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $916.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $406.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.34, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $953.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $971.03. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $867.34 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.15 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,067.19.

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.