Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC Cuts Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 16.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 287 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 58 shares during the period. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ibex Wealth Advisors raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors now owns 5,714 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,656,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 22.7% in the second quarter. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. now owns 5,903 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,844,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $10,363,000. Retirement Solution LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 45.8% in the second quarter. Retirement Solution LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,386,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 32,506 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,611 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $922.74 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $871.71 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market cap of $408.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.67, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $938.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $968.65.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. 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 company posted $5.15 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,063.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,373,175. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.