Diversified Enterprises LLC Trims Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Diversified Enterprises LLC trimmed its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 700 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 60 shares during the period. Diversified Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,165,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,029,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Kera Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth $220,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 141.9% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,517 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,435,000 after buying an additional 890 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $915.95 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $406.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.30, a PEG ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $955.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $970.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.16 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced 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 net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 31.10%. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. 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%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

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 value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,130.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,069.58.

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.