Journey Strategic Wealth LLC Buys 768 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Journey Strategic Wealth LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,623 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 768 shares during the quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,461,159,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 418,980.3% during the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 2,359,422 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,335,686,000 after acquiring an additional 2,358,859 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,356,271 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,920,107,000 after acquiring an additional 711,560 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 84.0% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 812,188 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $768,114,000 after acquiring an additional 370,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15,055.5% in the 2nd quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. now owns 320,994 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $317,722,000 after purchasing an additional 318,876 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.3%

COST opened at $893.29 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $871.71 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $929.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $963.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $395.89 billion, a PE ratio of 49.05, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,025.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total transaction of $2,232,312.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,860,260. This trade represents a 54.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 9,720 shares of company stock worth $9,010,257 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.