Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Hudson Value Partners LLC

Hudson Value Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 12.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,109 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,148 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 2.8% of Hudson Value Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Hudson Value Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $61,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Argus lifted their price objective 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. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,130.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,067.19.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $917.34 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $406.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $954.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $971.03. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $867.16 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $86.16 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.15 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

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.