Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Dogwood Wealth Management LLC

Dogwood Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,106 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 165 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 1.0% of Dogwood Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,076,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC raised 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth approximately $61,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $917.34 on Thursday. 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 has a market capitalization of $406.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $954.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $971.03. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were issued 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 was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on COST. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,067.19.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their position. The sale 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 business’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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $7,588,685. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.