Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD Raises Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD increased its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 61.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,226 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,738 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.6% of Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Ve Gananot Havera Menahelet LTD grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61.6% in the second quarter. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Ve Gananot Havera Menahelet LTD now owns 21,038 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $20,839,000 after acquiring an additional 8,017 shares during the last quarter. AlTi Global Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 14.3% in the second quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 2,357 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,334,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Draper Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.7% in the second quarter. Draper Asset Management LLC now owns 2,476 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,439,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1,665.3% in the second quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC now owns 7,732 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,654,000 after acquiring an additional 7,294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opes Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $214,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $942.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $417.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.73, a PEG ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.98. 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $946.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $971.51.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.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 prior year, the company posted $5.15 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president 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 the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Citigroup cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,130.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price target on the stock. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale 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.