Baskin Financial Services Inc. Sells 628 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Baskin Financial Services Inc. reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 0.9%, selling 628 shares during the second quarter, leaving them with 66,805 shares valued at approximately $66.1 million.
• Costco reported earnings of $5.87 per share for the most recent quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 8.1% to $86.16 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.6%, with a dividend payout ratio of 28.56%.

Baskin Financial Services Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,805 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 628 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 5.0% of Baskin Financial Services Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Baskin Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $66,132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. M1 Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. M1 Capital Management LLC now owns 544 shares of the retailer's stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 165,924 shares of the retailer's stock worth $164,255,000 after buying an additional 9,213 shares during the period. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,465 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,450,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 9,804 shares of the retailer's stock worth $9,705,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, WMG Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. WMG Financial Advisors LLC now owns 644 shares of the retailer's stock worth $638,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $930.01 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $867.34 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The company has a market capitalization of $412.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.72 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $952.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $971.48. 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 (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Argus lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,066.23.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm'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 directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 9,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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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