Wealth Quarterback LLC Decreases Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Wealth Quarterback LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,075 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 130 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.0% of Wealth Quarterback LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Wealth Quarterback LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $913.86 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $871.71 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The company has a market cap of $405.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. 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 simple moving average is $937.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $967.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $5.15 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $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%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. The trade was a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,373,175. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 29th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Argus boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,063.88.

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.