Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Texas Yale Capital Corp.

Texas Yale Capital Corp. reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,571 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $11,455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the second 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 boosted 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 buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Daiwa Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,063.88.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $923.58 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $409.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.72, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $938.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $969.02. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $871.71 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced 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 business had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.15 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. 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 (DPR) is currently 28.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,912,100. This trade 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 this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,373,175 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Costco Wholesale

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.