Legal & General Group Plc Cuts Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,587,466 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 70,917 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.6% of Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,561,436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the 1st 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. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 72.0% during the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $893.29 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $871.71 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $395.89 billion, a PE ratio of 49.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $929.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $963.93.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its 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. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.15 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st 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, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value of $1,157,994.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total value of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. The trade was a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,140.00 to $1,134.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Argus upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 29th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,025.07.

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.