Lodestone Wealth Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Lodestone Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,578 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 76 shares during the period. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Absolute Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Absolute Capital Management LLC now owns 2,202 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,180,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Telligent Fund LP increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 6.4% during the second quarter. Telligent Fund LP now owns 5,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,950,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.2% in the second quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 9,576 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,480,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. 17 Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at about $209,000. Finally, Weaver Consulting Group boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the second quarter. Weaver Consulting Group now owns 1,505 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price target on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,025.07.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $890.60 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $871.71 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market cap of $394.70 billion, a PE ratio of 48.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $930.74 and a 200-day moving average of $964.43.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total transaction of $1,157,994.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,966.10. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total value of $2,232,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $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 a total of 9,720 shares of company stock worth $9,010,257 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Costco Wholesale

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.