Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. Has $2.11 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,128 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $40,332,515,000 after acquiring an additional 443,101 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the first 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 last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.2% during the 1st 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. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth $3,461,159,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.9% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,357,630 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,175,579,000 after buying an additional 125,441 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $922.74 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $938.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $968.70. 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 company has a market capitalization of $408.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.67, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $871.71 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total transaction of $1,157,994.18. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,373,175. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. 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 report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.