Arlington Financial Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Arlington Financial Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.8%, now holding 8,701 shares valued at approximately $8.61 million.
• Institutional ownership of Costco Wholesale stands at 68.48%, reflecting continued interest from other institutional investors, including significant increases from JGP Wealth Management and Cypress Wealth Services.
• Costco reported $5.87 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $86.16 billion, marking an 8.1% year-over-year increase.

Arlington Financial Advisors LLC decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,701 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,278 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 1.4% of Arlington Financial Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Arlington Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JGP Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 11.4% during the second quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,177 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,135,000 after buying an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.5% during the second quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,604 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,558,000 after buying an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth about $208,000. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.2% during the second quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,672 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,595,000 after buying an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 72.0% during the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $946.51 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $951.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $971.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $419.47 billion, a PE ratio of 51.98, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $867.34 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on COST. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 9th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $1,115.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,068.04.

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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