Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Stock Holdings Increased by Libra Wealth LLC

Libra Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 410 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the quarter. Libra Wealth LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Argus boosted 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 report on Monday, September 29th. Citigroup cut their price target 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. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Nineteen 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,066.23.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.4%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $930.01 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $412.16 billion, a PE ratio of 51.07, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $952.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $972.00. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.34 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.15 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

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.