Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC Has $10.84 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,947 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.7% of Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,837,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of COST. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,461,159,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 418,980.3% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 2,359,422 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,335,686,000 after acquiring an additional 2,358,859 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,356,271 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,920,107,000 after purchasing an additional 711,560 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 84.0% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 812,188 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $768,114,000 after purchasing an additional 370,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15,055.5% in the 2nd quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. now owns 320,994 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $317,722,000 after purchasing an additional 318,876 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of COST stock opened at $899.01 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $871.71 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market cap of $398.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.37, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $927.95 and its 200-day moving average is $963.13. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for 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%.The business’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Erste Group Bank cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Eighteen investment 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,025.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total value of $2,526,336.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,410,343.68. This represents a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 directly owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,720 shares of company stock worth $9,010,257. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.