Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Grows Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,672 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,595,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 72.0% in the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth about $48,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.2%

COST stock opened at $946.51 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $419.47 billion, a PE ratio of 51.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $867.34 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $951.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $971.87. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion during 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 was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.15 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Argus increased 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 report on Monday, September 29th. Daiwa Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,068.04.

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.