Iowa State Bank Has $2.18 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Iowa State Bank grew its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,198 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,176,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of COST. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth about $61,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $910.94 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $867.34 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $953.08 and a 200-day moving average of $972.16. 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 $403.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.02, a P/E/G ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The business 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 posted $5.15 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were paid 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 is 28.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on COST. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Argus raised their price target on 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. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price target on Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,130.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,067.19.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, 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 value of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.