Wealth Watch Advisors INC Buys 471 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Wealth Watch Advisors INC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 87.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,009 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the period. Wealth Watch Advisors INC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 9.5% in the second quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 135,038 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $133,680,000 after acquiring an additional 11,768 shares during the period. Oak Grove Capital LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 65.3% in the second quarter. Oak Grove Capital LLC now owns 21,698 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $21,480,000 after acquiring an additional 8,568 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 884,557 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $875,658,000 after acquiring an additional 7,973 shares during the period. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the second quarter. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,849 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,770,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, Brookwood Investment Group LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 17.1% in the second quarter. Brookwood Investment Group LLC now owns 3,680 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,643,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value 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 $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of COST opened at $932.14 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $867.34 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $413.10 billion, a PE ratio of 51.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $945.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $972.16.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,130.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective 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. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.