Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Holdings Lifted by Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC

Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,328 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMG National Trust Bank raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.1% during the second quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 4,765 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,050,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 16,013 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $13,611,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $207,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 16.0% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 239 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock traded up $1.65 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $879.21. The company had a trading volume of 1,305,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,967,249. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $530.56 and a 12 month high of $896.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $851.23 and its 200 day moving average is $789.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $389.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.47, a PEG ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,015,745. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,970 shares of company stock worth $4,249,526 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $925.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $824.50.

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.