Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Bought by United Asset Strategies Inc.

United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 35.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,714 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 717 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the 4th 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. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth about $3,095,000. BluePointe Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 46.8% in the 1st quarter. BluePointe Capital Management LLC now owns 765 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $724,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.4% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 32,571 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,805,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, 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 for the company. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,063.88.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,373,175. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $913.86 on Wednesday. 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 cap of $405.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.18, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $937.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $967.78. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $871.71 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company earned $5.15 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. 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 is currently 28.56%.

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.