Kane Investment Management Inc. Sells 199 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Kane Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,496 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 199 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.3% of Kane Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Kane Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $40,332,515,000 after buying an additional 443,101 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,275,056 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,124,263,000 after acquiring an additional 150,844 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,332,009 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,097,127,000 after purchasing an additional 18,045 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,695,796,000 after purchasing an additional 191,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,461,159,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $922.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $409.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.69, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $934.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $966.73. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $871.71 and a one year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.15 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total transaction of $2,232,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,860,260. This represents a 54.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,966.10. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,320 shares of company stock worth $9,605,487. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Daiwa Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Roth Capital set a $907.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen 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.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,063.88.

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.