Financial Advocates Investment Management Reduces Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Financial Advocates Investment Management decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 43.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,289 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,328 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased 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 during the period. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased 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 during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,140.00 to $1,134.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,025.07.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $886.12 on Tuesday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $926.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $961.64. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $871.71 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $392.71 billion, a PE ratio of 48.66, a P/E/G 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were given 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 was Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,966.10. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. This represents a 28.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257. 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.