Teacher Retirement System of Texas Reduces Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 128,199 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,637 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 0.5% of Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $126,909,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 72.0% in the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $932.14 on Monday. 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 market capitalization of $413.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $945.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $972.16. 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 earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.15 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,068.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total transaction of $1,157,994.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the 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 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. Insiders have sold a total of 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.