Boston Common Asset Management LLC Sells 488 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Boston Common Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.4%, selling 488 shares and holding a total of 13,676 shares valued at approximately $13.5 million.
• Costco has received an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $1,067.19, despite various price adjustments, with Goldman Sachs raising their target to $1,418.00.
• The company reported earnings of $5.87 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and showing an 8.1% year-over-year increase in revenue.

Boston Common Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 3.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,676 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 488 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.4% in the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,436,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. F&V Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $236,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $3,095,000. Rossmore Private Capital raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the first quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 6,687 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,325,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% in the first quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,380 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,305,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,067.19.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $915.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $405.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $953.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $971.61. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $867.34 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.15 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. 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%.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $7,588,685. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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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