Savant Capital LLC Boosts Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 11.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,661 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,030 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the 2nd 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 grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 72.0% during the 2nd 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. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth $48,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $923.58 on Friday. 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 Corporation has a 52-week low of $871.71 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $938.53 and a 200-day moving average of $969.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $409.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $907.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,063.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. This represents a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total transaction of $1,157,994.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Costco Wholesale

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.