PFG Investments LLC Boosts Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

PFG Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,521 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 182 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.1% of PFG Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $18,335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,461,159,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 418,980.3% during the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 2,359,422 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,335,686,000 after buying an additional 2,358,859 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $40,332,515,000 after buying an additional 443,101 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 84.0% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,695,796,000 after buying an additional 191,985 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.0%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $925.63 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $954.76 and a 200 day moving average of $971.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $410.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.83, a P/E/G ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $867.16 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.15 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,067.19.

About Costco Wholesale

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.