BOCHK Asset Management Ltd Sells 150 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

BOCHK Asset Management Ltd reduced its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 42.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 200 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of COST. Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,436,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. F&V Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth $236,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at $3,095,000. Rossmore Private Capital lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 6,687 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,325,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth $241,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,067.19.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $917.34 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $867.16 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $954.29 and its 200 day moving average is $971.03. The company has a market cap of $406.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.38, a PEG ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $5.15 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.56%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.