Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Slow Capital Inc.

Slow Capital Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,297 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 115 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 2.1% of Slow Capital Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Slow Capital Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $17,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of COST. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 354.3% during the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 159 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,270 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at $3,093,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $914.80 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.34 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $952.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $971.76. The firm has a market cap of $405.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.24, a P/E/G ratio of 5.52 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, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.15 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given 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 is presently 28.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Erste Group Bank lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,130.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,067.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 5,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% 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 valued at $7,588,685 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.