Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Holdings Boosted by Smith Group Asset Management LLC

Smith Group Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,234 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 763 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 3.3% of Smith Group Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Smith Group Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $50,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.7% in the second quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,580 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,534,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Strata Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 14.4% in the second quarter. Strata Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $598,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Avion Wealth lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 110.5% in the second quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 240 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Advisory Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.9% in the second quarter. Silver Oak Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,278 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,264,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.1% in the second quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,103,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on COST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.3%

COST opened at $942.05 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $417.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.73, a P/E/G ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $946.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $971.51. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $867.34 and a one year 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 released its 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.15 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 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.