Empirical Finance LLC Raises Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,367 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.8% of Empirical Finance LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $15,212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nicholas Wealth LLC. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nicholas Wealth LLC. now owns 1,964 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,945,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $4,294,000. Brown Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Wealth Management LLC now owns 294 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% during the second quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. now owns 1,578 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,562,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspen Investment Management Inc grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.3% in the second quarter. Aspen Investment Management Inc now owns 1,098 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,087,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. The trade was a 28.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,720 shares of company stock worth $9,010,257. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.9%

COST stock opened at $895.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $396.68 billion, a PE ratio of 49.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $871.71 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $932.06 and a 200 day moving average of $964.95.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast 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, November 14th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,025.07.

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.