Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Purchased by Motco

Motco lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,157 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.4% of Motco’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Motco’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $14,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Corps Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,543,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 3,071 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,905,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,460 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,327,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $924.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $409.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.75, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 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. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $943.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $971.63. 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 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. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.15 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value of $1,157,994.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,966.10. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,130.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,068.15.

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.