Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Acquired by Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco by 8.2% in Q2, owning 10,222 shares valued at $10.1 million after acquiring an additional 775 shares.
• Costco reported $5.87 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $86.16 billion, an 8.1% increase year-over-year.
• The company has recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.6% and a payout ratio of 28.56%.

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 8.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,222 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 775 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,912,100. The trade was 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 sold 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $7,588,685. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:COST opened at $930.01 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $952.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $971.77. The stock has a market cap of $412.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.07, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.98. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.15 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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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