Gables Capital Management Inc. Purchases 20 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Gables Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 289 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 20 shares during the quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 72.0% during the 2nd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:COST opened at $937.50 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $947.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $971.46. The company has a market capitalization of $415.48 billion, a PE ratio of 51.48, 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. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $867.34 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm 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 30.09%. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Costco Wholesale Company 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.