Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. Increases Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,477 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 4.9% of Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,461,159,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $2,335,686,000 after acquiring an additional 2,358,859 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $40,332,515,000 after acquiring an additional 443,101 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 84.0% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 812,188 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $768,114,000 after acquiring an additional 370,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2,369.5% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 323,288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $320,036,000 after acquiring an additional 310,197 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ:COST opened at $932.14 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $413.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.19, a P/E/G ratio of 5.72 and a beta of 0.98. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $945.23 and a 200 day moving average of $971.67. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $867.34 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.15 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at $6,410,343.68. This represents a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,373,175 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on 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. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,130.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 target price on the stock. 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale 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.