Northeast Financial Group Inc. Cuts Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Northeast Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 321 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 11 shares during the quarter. Northeast Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Corps Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,463,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 8.6% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 866 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Farrell Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Farrell Financial LLC now owns 522 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 2,035 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,925,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of COST opened at $917.34 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $954.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $971.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.16 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $406.82 billion, a PE ratio of 50.38, a P/E/G ratio of 5.65 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, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. Analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Argus raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,067.19.

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.