L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP Sells 725 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP reduced its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,372 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 725 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 3.1% of L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $26,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $61,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $7,588,685. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $930.01 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $867.34 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $952.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $971.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $412.16 billion, a PE ratio of 51.07, a P/E/G ratio of 5.72 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday. 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 research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,066.23.

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.