Chilton Capital Management LLC Boosts Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Chilton Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 42,087 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 1.5% of Chilton Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Chilton Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $41,664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 72.0% during the 2nd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $932.14 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $413.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.19, a P/E/G ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $945.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $972.11. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.34 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Argus boosted 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 research report on Monday, September 29th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,068.15.

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.