Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Stake Lowered by Wendell David Associates Inc.

Wendell David Associates Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,882 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,081 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.7% of Wendell David Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $16,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.7% during the second quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 1,019 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,009,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth approximately $46,336,000. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 31.8% during the second quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,947,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the period. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the second quarter. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 2,285 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,262,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Finally, United Bank boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.2% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 5,846 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,787,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Argus boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Daiwa Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $936.33 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $867.34 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $949.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $971.53. The company has a market capitalization of $414.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.98. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 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.