Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Lowers Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,885 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 15 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Exchange Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 38.8% during the second quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,152 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 3,567 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,532,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 2,270 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,247,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the second quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 6,558 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,240,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth approximately $3,720,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on COST. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,130.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,067.19.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $916.77 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $867.34 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $953.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $971.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $406.57 billion, a PE ratio of 50.34, a P/E/G ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.15 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Costco Wholesale 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.