L.M. Kohn & Company Cuts Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

L.M. Kohn & Company decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,598 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,022 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 3.6% of L.M. Kohn & Company’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. L.M. Kohn & Company’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,461,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Corps Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,543,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 3,071 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,905,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,460 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,327,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,373,175. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $924.16 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $943.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $971.63. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $867.34 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $409.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.75, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.98. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 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 analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective 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. Argus raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.