Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Purchased by Grimes & Company Inc.

Key Points

• Grimes & Company Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 46.4% during the 2nd quarter, now owning 2,111 shares valued at approximately $2,090,000.
• Costco's stock has seen various price target adjustments from analysts, with Oppenheimer setting a target price of $1,130.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Costco reported a quarterly earnings per share of $5.87, exceeding expectations and demonstrating an 8.1% increase in year-over-year revenue.

Grimes & Company Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 46.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,111 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock worth $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,029,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Charter Oak Capital Management LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.1% during the first quarter. Charter Oak Capital Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the retailer's stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 10,846.8% during the first quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 20,580 shares of the retailer's stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 20,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bennett Selby Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 17.5% in the first quarter. Bennett Selby Investments LP now owns 1,109 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on COST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of 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. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,130.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,067.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their position. 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 three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $910.94 on Tuesday. 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $953.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $972.16. The company has a market cap of $403.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.02, a PEG ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for 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%. Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.15 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.56%.

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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