Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Stake Cut by Fischer Financial Services Inc.

Fischer Financial Services Inc. cut its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,537 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 13 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 2.2% of Fischer Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Fischer Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Fire Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $1,223,000. Finally, Milestone Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $1,085,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,061.30.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $943.31 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $867.16 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $418.34 billion, a PE ratio of 53.51, a PEG ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $956.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $970.87.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%.The firm 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 posted $5.15 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.