Howe & Rusling Inc. Increases Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,576 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 295 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Corps Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Redwood Park Advisors LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC now owns 173 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Luminist Capital LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 9.4% in the first quarter. Luminist Capital LLC now owns 128 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Birchbrook Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% during the first quarter. Birchbrook Inc. now owns 456 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on 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. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,025.07.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 5,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,817,966.10. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,860,260. The trade was a 54.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 9,720 shares of company stock worth $9,010,257 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $890.60 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $871.71 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The company has a market capitalization of $394.70 billion, a PE ratio of 48.91, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $930.74 and a 200-day moving average of $964.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly 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. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The firm 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 business posted $5.15 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.