New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 559,788 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 8,060 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 0.7% of New York State Common Retirement Fund’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.13% of Costco Wholesale worth $554,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 635.7% in the 2nd quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,206 shares in the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC increased 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.5%

COST stock opened at $912.90 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $871.71 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The business’s 50-day moving average is $922.57 and its 200 day moving average is $959.38. 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 market cap of $404.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.13, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The business’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.15 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued 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 presently 28.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on COST. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,140.00 to $1,134.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Erste Group Bank cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,025.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total transaction of $2,232,312.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,860,260. This represents a 54.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 9,720 shares of company stock worth $9,010,257 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.