Williamson Legacy Group LLC Grows Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Williamson Legacy Group LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,284 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 66 shares during the quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealthquest Corp increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Rinkey Investments raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rinkey Investments now owns 2,193 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.4% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 166,398 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $164,724,000 after purchasing an additional 3,823 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 50.6% during the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 21,972 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $21,746,000 after purchasing an additional 7,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $5,692,035,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $912.90 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $871.71 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. The business has a 50-day moving average of $922.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $959.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $404.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.13, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on COST. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price target on Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,025.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total transaction of $2,232,312.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,860,260. This trade represents a 54.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.