Spire Wealth Management Cuts Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Spire Wealth Management lowered its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 24.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,321 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 8,560 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 0.9% of Spire Wealth Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $25,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Corps Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,463,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,543,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 3,071 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,905,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,460 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,327,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,130.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target 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. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,068.15.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at $6,410,343.68. This represents a 28.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,373,175. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $912.42 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $404.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.11, a PEG ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $867.34 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $941.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $971.27. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.56%.

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.