AlphaQuest LLC Cuts Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

AlphaQuest LLC cut its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 48.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 485 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 462 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring 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. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at about $48,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $924.16 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business has a 50 day moving average of $943.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $971.63. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $867.34 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The company has a market cap of $409.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.75, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. 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 payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Roth Capital set a $907.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,068.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. The trade was a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value of $1,157,994.18. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,373,175. Corporate 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.