Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. Increases Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 326,873 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,910 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.8% of Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $323,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 72.0% during the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of COST stock opened at $922.98 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $409.05 billion, a PE ratio of 50.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $934.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $966.55. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $871.71 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on COST. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Nineteen investment 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,063.88.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value of $1,157,994.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total value of $2,232,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,860,260. The trade was a 54.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 10,320 shares of company stock worth $9,605,487 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.