REAP Financial Group LLC Sells 12 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

REAP Financial Group LLC decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 481 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 12 shares during the period. REAP Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $476,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $40,332,515,000 after buying an additional 443,101 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,332,009 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,097,127,000 after acquiring an additional 18,045 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 5.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,695,796,000 after acquiring an additional 191,985 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $3,461,159,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.9% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,357,630 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,175,579,000 after acquiring an additional 125,441 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of COST opened at $914.80 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $867.34 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market cap of $405.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $952.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $971.76. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last issued 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. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Argus increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 29th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.