Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST is L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP's 8th Largest Position

Key Points

• L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP has reduced its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 2.7%, making Costco the firm's 8th largest position at approximately $26.1 million.
• Costco reported a net margin of 2.94% and a revenue of $86.16 billion for the last quarter, demonstrating an 8.1% year-over-year increase.
• Current analysts' ratings for Costco include a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with a target price averaging around $1,066.23.

L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,372 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 725 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 3.1% of L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $26,107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wealthstar Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.6% in the second quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC now owns 434 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. M1 Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.2% in the second quarter. M1 Capital Management LLC now owns 544 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.9% in the second quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 165,924 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $164,255,000 after purchasing an additional 9,213 shares during the period. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the second quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,465 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,450,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.8% in the second quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 9,804 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $9,705,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets reduced 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 report on Tuesday, September 30th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,066.23.

Insider Activity

In other 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $7,588,685 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.4%

COST stock opened at $930.01 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $867.34 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The company's 50 day moving average is $952.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $971.48. The stock has a market cap of $412.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.07, a PEG ratio of 5.72 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.15 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders 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 of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Costco Wholesale 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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