Prospera Financial Services Inc Acquires 2,057 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 29,863 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,057 shares during the quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $29,583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. RWA Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the second quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 48,766 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $48,276,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 79,714 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $78,912,000 after buying an additional 1,438 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 164 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $162,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 24,056 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $22,752,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,618 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $34,269,000 after acquiring an additional 2,366 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total transaction of $1,157,994.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,966.10. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total value of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,410,343.68. The trade was a 28.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:COST opened at $922.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $408.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.67, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $871.71 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a fifty day moving average of $938.12 and a 200 day moving average of $968.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm 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 revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.15 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given 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 yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on COST. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Argus increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target 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. 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.