Blair William & Co. IL Buys 3,087 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 0.6%, now owning 551,986 shares worth approximately $546 million, making Costco its 10th largest investment.
• Costco recently reported $86.16 billion in quarterly revenue, exceeding analysts' predictions, and earnings per share of $5.87, surpassing estimates by $0.06.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, with an annualized dividend of $5.20 and a dividend yield of 0.6%.

Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 551,986 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 3,087 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.5% of Blair William & Co. IL's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Blair William & Co. IL owned 0.12% of Costco Wholesale worth $546,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,628 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,160,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares during the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 41.1% in the first quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 618 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.7% in the first quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 600 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $942.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $418.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $952.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $971.48. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.34 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $86.16 billion for 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%. Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on COST. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,130.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of 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. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,066.23.

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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