Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Increases Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.6%, holding 14,671 shares valued at approximately $14.5 million at the end of Q2.
• Insider transactions showed that executives sold shares of Costco, with two executives selling a total of 3,981 shares, representing significant decreases in their positions.
• Equity analysts have mixed ratings for Costco, with price targets ranging from $947 to $1,200, and an overall average target price of $1,066.23.

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,671 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $14,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $40,332,515,000 after acquiring an additional 443,101 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,332,009 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,097,127,000 after acquiring an additional 18,045 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,695,796,000 after acquiring an additional 191,985 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at $3,461,159,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.9% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,357,630 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,175,579,000 after acquiring an additional 125,441 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on COST shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Argus lifted their price objective 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. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,066.23.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $935.56 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $951.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $972.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $414.62 billion, a PE ratio of 51.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 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 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 released its 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. The firm 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 business's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.15 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

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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