BLB&B Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

BLB&B Advisors LLC decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,129 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 112 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.2% of BLB&B Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $24,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 5,619 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,562,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284 shares during the period. Strs Ohio grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 135,527 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $134,164,000 after purchasing an additional 6,812 shares during the period. One Day In July LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. One Day In July LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Spinnaker Trust grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 7,677 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,600,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 5,126 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,074,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total value of $2,526,336.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. The trade was a 28.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value of $1,157,994.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,373,175. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on COST. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,130.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. 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. Wolfe Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $920.18 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $867.34 and a 52 week 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 stock has a market capitalization of $407.81 billion, a PE ratio of 50.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $940.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $970.92.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.15 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

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.