Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV Makes New Investment in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. has acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale, purchasing 280 shares valued at approximately $277,000 in the second quarter.
• Analyst ratings for Costco have remained positive, with BTIG Research initiating coverage with a "buy" rating and a price target of $1,115.00, while the consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $1,068.04.
• Costco recently reported earnings of $5.87 per share for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and reflecting an 8.1% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.

Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 280 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $1,115.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,130.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,068.04.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the business's 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $946.51 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $867.34 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market cap of $419.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.98, a PEG ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $951.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $971.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.15 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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