Curbstone Financial Management Corp Acquires 154 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Curbstone Financial Management Corp increased its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 24.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 772 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foster & Motley Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 471 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $466,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. now owns 4,079 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,038,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 17,383 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $17,208,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,977 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,957,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 429,312 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $424,994,000 after acquiring an additional 2,595 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.2%

COST stock opened at $936.33 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $949.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $971.49. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $867.34 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $414.96 billion, a PE ratio of 51.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.15 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on COST. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,068.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale 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.