Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Forefront Wealth Management Inc.

Forefront Wealth Management Inc. lessened its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,146 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 197 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 4.1% of Forefront Wealth Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Forefront Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 2.9%

COST stock opened at $915.95 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $406.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.30, a PEG ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.16 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The company’s 50 day moving average is $955.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $971.63.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on COST. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,130.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price 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. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,069.58.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was 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 directly owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.