Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Acquired by State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System

State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 431,511 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,112 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.8% of State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System owned approximately 0.10% of Costco Wholesale worth $427,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 635.7% during the 2nd quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 2,206 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the first 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. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,025.07.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.6%

COST opened at $908.26 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $871.71 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $924.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $960.46. The firm has a market cap of $402.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.88, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.15 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders 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 of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total value of $2,232,312.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,860,260. The trade was a 54.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. The trade was a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,720 shares of company stock worth $9,010,257. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.