Ascent Group LLC Grows Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,861 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 0.8% of Ascent Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Oak Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,737,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the second quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the first quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 995 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the second quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 790 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LifePro Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the second quarter. LifePro Asset Management now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $955.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $980.00 target price (up previously from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $881.19.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $885.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $392.62 billion, a PE ratio of 54.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $540.23 and a 12-month high of $923.83. The company has a 50-day moving average of $870.67 and a 200 day moving average of $816.70.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 16.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at $20,015,745. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.