Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 306 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Securian Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,197 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 306 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.7% of Securian Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $22,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,628 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,160,000 after acquiring an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 89.7% during the first quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 550 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $520,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LVZ Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the first quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 935 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $884,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $936.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $414.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.41, a P/E/G ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $948.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $971.70. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $867.34 and a one year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 target price for the company. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,068.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.