Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Acquired by Dillon & Associates Inc.

Dillon & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 14.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,421 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,481 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.5% of Dillon & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Dillon & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $11,307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Smart Money Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.8% during the first quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,034,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.7% during the first quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,728,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crew Capital Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.5% during the first quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. now owns 243 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $928.04 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $939.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $969.95. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $871.71 and a twelve 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 firm has a market capitalization of $411.29 billion, a PE ratio of 50.96, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,373,175 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Erste Group Bank lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Argus raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,065.08.

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.