Provident Co of the Employees of the Hebrew University LTD Acquires Shares of 1,448 Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Provident Co of the Employees of the Hebrew University LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,448 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,434,000. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.4% of Provident Co of the Employees of the Hebrew University LTD’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 72.0% in the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $911.45 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $867.34 and a one year high of $1,078.23. 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $939.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $970.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $403.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.05, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued 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 net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.15 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. 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 currently 28.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were 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 in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at $6,410,343.68. This represents a 28.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of 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. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.