Princeton Capital Management LLC Purchases 131 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Princeton Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,756 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.1% of Princeton Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Princeton Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,169,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Ascent Capital Management LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $954,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CFO4Life Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.1% in the first quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 1,079 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on COST. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Argus boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Daiwa Capital Markets dropped 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. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,063.88.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $923.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $409.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.72, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $871.71 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $938.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $969.02.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a $1.30 dividend. 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 28.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.