Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC Buys 148 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 443,101 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,332,009 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,097,127,000 after acquiring an additional 18,045 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,695,796,000 after acquiring an additional 191,985 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,461,159,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,357,630 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,175,579,000 after purchasing an additional 125,441 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $930.01 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $412.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.07, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $952.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $972.00. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.34 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Argus increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,130.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,066.23.

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.