Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 75,561 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,493 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $74,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the second quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI now owns 16,888 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,718,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the second quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,638 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $20,430,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.4% in the first 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. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at about $3,095,000. Finally, Rossmore Private Capital boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the first 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. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.2%

COST stock opened at $936.33 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $414.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.42, a P/E/G ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $867.34 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $949.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $971.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm earned $5.15 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,068.15.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.