VeraBank N.A. Boosts Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

VeraBank N.A. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,443 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. VeraBank N.A.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,165,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.1% during the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,390 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,772,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Gould Asset Management LLC CA raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Gould Asset Management LLC CA now owns 1,869 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,768,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Florida Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 90.9% in the 1st quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,132 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,018,000 after buying an additional 1,015 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on COST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,063.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 5,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,373,175. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $915.56 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $937.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $968.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $871.71 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The company has a market capitalization of $405.76 billion, a PE ratio of 50.28, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.15 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

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.