Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,785 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of COST. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $25,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 635.7% in the 2nd quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 2,206 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $908.26 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $923.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $960.10. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $871.71 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market cap of $402.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.88, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.15 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company 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 was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. 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 report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,025.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total value of $2,526,336.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,410,343.68. The trade was a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total transaction of $1,157,994.18. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,817,966.10. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257 in the last three months. Corporate 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.