Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,076 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 61 shares during the quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,165,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 789 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $746,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 75,252 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $71,172,000 after buying an additional 6,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 150,226 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $139,659,000 after buying an additional 21,249 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $932.14 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $413.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50 day moving average is $945.23 and its 200 day moving average is $972.16. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.34 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 30.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.15 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. 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 is 28.56%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total transaction of $1,157,994.18. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Argus upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,068.15.

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.