AXQ Capital LP Makes New Investment in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 720 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $713,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,356,271 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,920,107,000 after purchasing an additional 711,560 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,275,056 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,124,263,000 after buying an additional 150,844 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,332,009 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,097,127,000 after acquiring an additional 18,045 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,695,796,000 after acquiring an additional 191,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,461,159,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total transaction of $1,157,994.18. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,966.10. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,860,260. This represents a 54.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 9,720 shares of company stock worth $9,010,257 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $899.01 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $871.71 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market cap of $398.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.37, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business’s fifty day moving average is $927.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $962.80.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.15 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid 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 28.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,025.07.

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.