Bailard Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Bailard Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,017 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 830 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 0.9% of Bailard Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $40,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $3,095,000. BluePointe Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 46.8% in the 1st quarter. BluePointe Capital Management LLC now owns 765 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $724,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 32,571 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,805,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:COST opened at $913.86 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $937.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $967.78. The company has a market cap of $405.00 billion, a PE ratio of 50.18, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $871.71 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. 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 data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.15 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on COST. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen equities research 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,063.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders 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.

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.