Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Increases Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 50.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,972 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,384 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $21,746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 635.7% during the second quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,206 shares in the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of COST opened at $912.90 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 50 day simple moving average of $922.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $959.38. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $871.71 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market cap of $404.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the business’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 directly owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,410,343.68. This trade represents a 28.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,720 shares of company stock worth $9,010,257. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Daiwa Capital Markets dropped their price objective 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. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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 note on Friday, September 26th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $16.00 target price for the company. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,025.07.

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.