Kercheville Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Kercheville Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,565 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 4.3% of Kercheville Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Kercheville Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $12,438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the first 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. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth about $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president 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. Insiders sold a total of 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $7,588,685 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target 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. 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. Daiwa Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price 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. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,067.19.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of COST stock opened at $915.38 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $953.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $972.15. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.34 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $405.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.27, a PEG ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

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.