North Star Asset Management Inc. Decreases Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

North Star Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,644 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 943 shares during the quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oak Associates Ltd. OH purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $228,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 3,440 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,406,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 41,331 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $40,915,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.4% in the second quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,611 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,293,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Southeast Asset Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.1% during the second quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC now owns 2,994 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,964,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $886.12 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $926.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $961.64. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $871.71 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 firm has a market capitalization of $392.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.66, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value of $1,157,994.18. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on COST. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $16.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,025.07.

Costco Wholesale 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.