Amundi Buys 194,262 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Amundi lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,190,424 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 194,262 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.7% of Amundi’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Amundi owned approximately 0.49% of Costco Wholesale worth $2,151,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Luminist Capital LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 9.4% during the first quarter. Luminist Capital LLC now owns 128 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Birchbrook Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% during the first quarter. Birchbrook Inc. now owns 456 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.4% in the second quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 159 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Wagner Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.4% in the second quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 330 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. This represents a 28.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,860,260. This represents a 54.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,720 shares of company stock worth $9,010,257. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of COST stock opened at $895.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $397.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $871.71 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $920.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $956.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.15 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on COST. Daiwa Capital Markets reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,140.00 to $1,134.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,023.41.

About Costco Wholesale

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.