SPG Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 602 Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

SPG Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 602 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $596,000. Costco Wholesale comprises about 7.1% of SPG Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,165,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,029,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.9% during the first quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Finally, Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP now owns 796 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $753,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total transaction of $2,232,312.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,860,260. This trade represents a 54.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total value of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,410,343.68. This trade 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 valued at $9,010,257 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $884.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $392.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $916.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $950.64. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $867.12 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $67.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.03 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 2.96%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.04 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several research reports. Gordon Haskett dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 1st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,000.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Mizuho lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $998.70.

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.