Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc Purchases New Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation during the 2nd quarter, purchasing 3,955 shares valued at approximately $3.9 million, making Costco its 7th largest position.
• Several institutional investors increased their holdings in Costco, with total institutional ownership reaching 68.48% of the company's stock.
• Costco reported a quarterly EPS of $5.87 exceeding estimates and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30, reflecting a yield of 0.6%.

Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,955 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $3,916,000. Costco Wholesale makes up about 2.1% of Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC now owns 2,462 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,437,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC now owns 4,144 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,103,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 17,011 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $16,840,000 after buying an additional 1,404 shares in the last quarter. Morey & Quinn Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Morey & Quinn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 843 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $835,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 21,524 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $21,307,000 after buying an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value 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 represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $907.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale and gave the stock 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,066.23.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $942.89 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $952.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $971.48. 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 cap of $418.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.78, a PEG ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $867.34 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.56%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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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