Wealthcare Capital Management LLC Has $356,000 Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Wealthcare Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 30.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 360 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 156 shares during the quarter. Wealthcare Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $61,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on COST. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,130.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $907.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,067.19.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% 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 Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $7,588,685 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:COST opened at $915.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $867.34 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The company has a market cap of $405.95 billion, a PE ratio of 50.27, a PEG ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $953.54 and a 200-day moving average of $971.61.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

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.