Appleton Partners Inc. MA Reduces Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Appleton Partners Inc. MA lessened its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,438 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 440 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2%

COST stock opened at $915.38 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.34 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $405.95 billion, a PE ratio of 50.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a 50 day moving average of $953.54 and a 200 day moving average of $972.15.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS 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 given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.56%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Insiders sold a total of 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $7,588,685 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Argus upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,067.19.

About Costco Wholesale

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.