Quent Capital LLC Buys 471 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 18.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,091 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 471 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,060,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the first 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 last quarter. eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $61,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $7,588,685. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 29th. 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, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,130.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,067.19.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $915.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $405.95 billion, a PE ratio of 50.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50-day moving average is $953.54 and its 200-day moving average is $971.61. 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 Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.34 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for 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 was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

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.