Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Bought by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,147 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 2.1% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $39,743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $3,461,159,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 418,980.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,358,859 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $40,332,515,000 after purchasing an additional 443,101 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 84.0% in 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, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.2% during the first 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 during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $915.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $867.34 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $953.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $971.61. The company has a market capitalization of $405.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were paid 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, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,130.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,067.19.

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.