Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Sells 540 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,845 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 540 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.3% of Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $38,454,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Astra Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $226,000. Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at about $875,000. Compton Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at about $240,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 6.8% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,222 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,208,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Texas Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.0% in the second quarter. Texas Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,848,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. This represents a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value of $1,157,994.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,155 shares of the company’s stock, 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 valued at $7,373,175 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $911.45 on Monday. The firm 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $867.34 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $939.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $970.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

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.