Smith Anglin Financial LLC Decreases Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Smith Anglin Financial LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,387 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 12 shares during the period. Smith Anglin Financial LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,436,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $236,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,095,000. Rossmore Private Capital increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 6,687 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,325,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $241,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST opened at $916.87 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $955.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $971.72. 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 1 year low of $867.16 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $406.61 billion, a PE ratio of 50.35, a P/E/G ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.15 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Argus raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. 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 research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten 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 $1,072.00.

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.