Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC Acquires 1,458 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 52.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,218 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,458 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.9% of Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,176,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its position in 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. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth $48,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on COST. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,063.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,373,175 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $923.58 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $409.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.72, a PEG 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $938.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $969.02.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 is currently 28.56%.

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.