Sterling Capital Management LLC Purchases 4,446 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 27,277 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 4,446 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $27,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in 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 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 valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at about $48,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value of $1,157,994.18. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $923.58 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $938.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $969.02. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $871.71 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market cap of $409.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on COST. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $907.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen equities research 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,063.88.

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.