Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC Makes New $203,000 Investment in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 205 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 72.0% in the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Hovde Group began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $16.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,025.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the 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 directly owned 5,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $886.12 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $926.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $961.64. The stock has a market cap of $392.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.66, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $871.71 and a one year high of $1,078.23.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

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.