First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. Invests $647,000 in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 654 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $647,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth approximately $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its position 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 purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth approximately $61,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $930.01 on Friday. 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. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $952.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $971.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $412.16 billion, a PE ratio of 51.07, a PEG ratio of 5.72 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued 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 return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $7,588,685. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Argus lifted their price objective on 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. 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. Mizuho reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,066.23.

Costco Wholesale Profile

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.