Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Stake Decreased by Northstar Group Inc.

Northstar Group Inc. cut its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,748 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 119 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 3.3% of Northstar Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Northstar Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $21,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $916.77 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $953.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $971.03. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $867.34 and a 12 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $406.57 billion, a PE ratio of 50.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.15 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price target on Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Daiwa Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Argus lifted 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 note on Monday. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,067.19.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $7,588,685. Corporate 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.