Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Grows Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 43,183 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,507 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 2.0% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $42,749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 72.0% during the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $48,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on COST. Sanford C. Bernstein increased 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. Truist Financial cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Erste Group Bank cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,068.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of COST stock opened at $929.85 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $867.34 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $944.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $971.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $412.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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