Firestone Capital Management Boosts Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Firestone Capital Management lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 741 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Firestone Capital Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,165,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $145,000. AMG National Trust Bank lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 4,818 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,557,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. Finally, St. Louis Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $277,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on COST shares. Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price objective on the stock. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,063.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total transaction of $2,232,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,860,260. This trade represents a 54.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 10,320 shares of company stock worth $9,605,487 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $922.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $934.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $966.55. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $871.71 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $409.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.69, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.15 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.