Advisors Asset Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,611 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 0.6% of Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $31,293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its stake 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. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 72.0% in the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,025.07.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at $4,817,966.10. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 9,720 shares of company stock worth $9,010,257 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.4%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $886.12 on Tuesday. 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 $392.71 billion, a PE ratio of 48.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $926.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $961.64. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $871.71 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.15 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate 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 paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. 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 payout ratio is currently 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.