Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 220 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 23 shares during the quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of COST. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, eCIO Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,373,175. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on COST. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price target on the stock. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of COST opened at $932.14 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $413.11 billion, a PE ratio of 51.19, a P/E/G ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s fifty day moving average is $945.23 and its 200 day moving average is $972.11. 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $867.34 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued 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. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.15 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

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.