Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Position Increased by Francis Financial Inc.

Francis Financial Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 130.1% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 504 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 285 shares during the quarter. Francis Financial Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Peterson Wealth Services raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 13,616 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $13,479,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the second quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI now owns 16,888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,718,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the second quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,638 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $20,430,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.7% during the 2nd quarter. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. now owns 5,903 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,844,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rossmore Private Capital increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 6,687 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,325,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total transaction of $2,232,312.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,860,260. This trade represents a 54.55% 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 on Monday, September 29th. The shares were 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 owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,320 shares of company stock worth $9,605,487. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of COST stock opened at $914.00 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $871.71 and a one year high of $1,078.23. 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 has a fifty day moving average price of $936.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $967.41. The stock has a market cap of $405.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The company 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 business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.15 EPS. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Argus raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,063.88.

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.