Mutual Advisors LLC Buys 1,143 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Mutual Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,108 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,143 shares during the quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $16,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of COST. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 9.2% in the second quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 20,579 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $20,372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,728 shares during the last quarter. Tuttle Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 14.4% in the second quarter. Tuttle Capital Management LLC now owns 666 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $659,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 6.5% in the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 21,531 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $21,315,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309 shares during the last quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,351,000. Finally, Curated Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.0% in the second quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 520 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $515,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $954.99 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $867.34 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $951.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $971.75. The firm has a market cap of $423.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.44, a PEG ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price target on the stock. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,068.04.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.