Huntington National Bank Buys 3,491 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 207,206 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,491 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 1.3% of Huntington National Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $205,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,461,159,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 418,980.3% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 2,359,422 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,335,686,000 after purchasing an additional 2,358,859 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $40,332,515,000 after acquiring an additional 443,101 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 84.0% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 812,188 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $768,114,000 after buying an additional 370,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 2,369.5% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 323,288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $320,036,000 after buying an additional 310,197 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Daiwa Capital Markets reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,065.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total transaction of $1,157,994.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,373,175 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $928.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $411.29 billion, a PE ratio of 50.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $871.71 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $939.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $969.95.

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. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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 given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.