Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. Raises Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,050 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 400 shares during the quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 18,108 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,940,000 after buying an additional 1,143 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 20,579 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $20,372,000 after buying an additional 1,728 shares during the period. Tuttle Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tuttle Capital Management LLC now owns 666 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $659,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 21,531 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,315,000 after buying an additional 1,309 shares during the period. Finally, Triton Wealth Management PLLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,351,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was 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 $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,130.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,068.04.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.9%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $954.99 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. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $867.34 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $951.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $971.75. The firm has a market cap of $423.23 billion, a PE ratio of 52.44, a P/E/G ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results 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. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.15 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.56%.

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.