Alapocas Investment Partners Inc. Cuts Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Alapocas Investment Partners Inc. has reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale by 10.8% during the second quarter, now holding 9,248 shares worth approximately $9.15 million.
• Costco's recent quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $5.87 earnings per share and generating $86.16 billion in revenue, reflecting an 8.1% increase year-over-year.
• A quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share has been declared, payable on November 14th, with an ex-dividend date set for October 31st.

Alapocas Investment Partners Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 10.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,248 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,125 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 5.9% of Alapocas Investment Partners Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Alapocas Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 72.0% in the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, eCIO Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $1,115.00 target price for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price 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. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,068.15.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 $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

Shares of COST opened at $936.11 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average is $948.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $971.70. The company has a market capitalization of $414.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.41, a P/E/G ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.98. 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 $867.34 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. Research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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