Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Acquired by Phoenix Financial Ltd.

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial Ltd. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 9.6% during Q2, owning 21,445 shares valued at approximately $21.23 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Costco reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue of $86.16 billion, marking an 8.1% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a $1.30 quarterly dividend to be paid on November 14th, representing an annualized payout of $5.20 and a yield of 0.6%.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. grew its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,445 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,875 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $21,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $936.11 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day moving average is $948.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $971.70. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $867.34 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market cap of $414.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.41, a PEG ratio of 5.68 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.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.15 EPS. Costco Wholesale's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be 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 is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 28.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on COST shares. Argus boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Daiwa Capital Markets reduced their price target on 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,068.15.

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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