Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Position Increased by Aspiriant LLC

Aspiriant LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,211 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 72.0% during the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $936.33 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.34 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. 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 $414.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.42, a PEG ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $949.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $971.49.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.15 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,130.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,068.15.

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.