Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Holdings Trimmed by Dudley Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Dudley Capital Management LLC significantly reduced its stake in Costco, trimming its holdings by 49.1% during the second quarter, now owning 2,382 shares valued at approximately $2.36 million.
• Costco reported fiscal results with earnings per share of $5.87, beating analyst estimates, and revenue of $86.16 billion, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 8.1%.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, set to be paid on November 14th, representing an annualized yield of 0.6%.

Dudley Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 49.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,382 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,296 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.2% of Dudley Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Dudley Capital Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of COST. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 72.0% during the 2nd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $1,115.00 price target on the stock. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,130.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.1%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $937.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $415.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.48, a P/E/G ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $867.34 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $947.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $971.46.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share 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 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 in the previous year, the business earned $5.15 EPS. As a group, 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 will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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