Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Has $1.36 Billion Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 96,316.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,378,758 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,377,328 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 0.9% of Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,364,888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at about $3,461,159,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC grew its stake 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 worth $2,335,686,000 after buying an additional 2,358,859 shares during 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 valued at $42,920,107,000 after buying an additional 711,560 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 84.0% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 812,188 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $768,114,000 after buying an additional 370,806 shares during the period. Finally, Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 15,055.5% during the second quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. now owns 320,994 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $317,722,000 after buying an additional 318,876 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, 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 transaction of $1,157,994.18. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,410,343.68. This represents a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 9,720 shares of company stock worth $9,010,257 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $886.12 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $392.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.66, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $926.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $961.64.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.15 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders 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 payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,140.00 to $1,134.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Erste Group Bank lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,025.07.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.