Appleton Partners Inc. MA Sells 440 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Appleton Partners Inc. MA sold 440 shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation, reducing its stake by 4.0%, and now owns 10,438 shares worth approximately $10.3 million.
• Costco reported earnings of $5.87 per share for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $86.16 billion, up 8.1% from the previous year.
• Institutional investors currently hold 68.48% of Costco's shares, indicating strong institutional confidence in the stock.

Appleton Partners Inc. MA lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,438 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 440 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of COST. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC increased its position 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. eCIO Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at about $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the first 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 last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at about $61,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $915.38 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $953.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $972.15. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $867.34 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The company has a market capitalization of $405.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.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 company posted $5.15 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $7,588,685. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Daiwa Capital Markets decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Erste Group Bank cut Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Roth Capital set a $907.00 price target on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,067.19.

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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