Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Purchased by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 37.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 602,948 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 163,855 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.5% of AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.14% of Costco Wholesale worth $596,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 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 worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 72.0% during the 2nd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $884.47 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $867.12 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $392.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.37, a PEG ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $916.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $951.10. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $67.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.03 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 2.96%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.04 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $998.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total value of $2,232,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,860,260. This trade represents a 54.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 9,720 shares of company stock worth $9,010,257 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.