Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC Sells 36 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 293 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 36 shares during the period. Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $290,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $40,332,515,000 after purchasing an additional 443,101 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,332,009 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,097,127,000 after purchasing an additional 18,045 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,695,796,000 after purchasing an additional 191,985 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at about $3,461,159,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.9% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,357,630 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,175,579,000 after purchasing an additional 125,441 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $915.38 on Friday. 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 12 month low of $867.34 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $953.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $971.15. The firm has a market cap of $405.95 billion, a PE ratio of 50.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The business had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.15 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.30 dividend. 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 is currently 28.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,130.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,067.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president 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 have sold 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.