MV Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

MV Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,304 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 156 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 72.0% during the 2nd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.0%

COST opened at $914.00 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $936.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $967.41. The company has a market capitalization of $405.07 billion, a PE ratio of 50.19, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $871.71 and a 1-year 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.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on COST. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered 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. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,063.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value of $1,157,994.18. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,966.10. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total value of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,410,343.68. The trade was a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 10,320 shares of company stock valued at $9,605,487. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.