Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,658 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.7% of Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Bank & Trust Co increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $915.95 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.16 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $955.70 and its 200 day moving average is $971.63. The stock has a market cap of $406.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.30, a PEG ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 0.97. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on COST. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,130.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday. Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,069.58.

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.