Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Purchased by Johnson Financial Group Inc.

Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,196 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Stevens Capital Partners acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $211,000. Korea Investment CORP raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 360,726 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $357,097,000 after buying an additional 17,493 shares during the period. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 6.2% in the second quarter. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC now owns 445 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Hobbs Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 4.4% in the second quarter. Hobbs Wealth Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the second quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 42,788 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,358,000 after acquiring an additional 1,557 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total value of $2,232,312.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,860,260. This trade represents a 54.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total value of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. This trade represents a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 9,720 shares of company stock worth $9,010,257 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on COST shares. Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,025.07.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $908.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $402.52 billion, a PE ratio of 49.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $871.71 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $924.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $960.46.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.15 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 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.