Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Stock Position Lifted by Aviso Financial Inc.

Aviso Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,123 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the quarter. Aviso Financial Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $12,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also 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 approximately $25,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 635.7% during the 2nd quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,206 shares in the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Hovde Group initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $16.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,025.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value of $1,157,994.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,817,966.10. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 9,720 shares of company stock worth $9,010,257 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ COST opened at $886.12 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $926.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $961.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $871.71 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market cap of $392.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.66, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.15 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

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.