Northstar Financial Companies Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Northstar Financial Companies Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 37.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,200 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 732 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.2% of Northstar Financial Companies Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Northstar Financial Companies Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,135,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,147 shares of company stock valued at $10,067,740 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.9%

NASDAQ COST opened at $949.52 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a fifty day moving average of $967.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $983.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $421.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.86, a PEG ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 0.96. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $867.16 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, August 4th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,050.00.

About Costco Wholesale

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.