Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Purchased by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Key Points

• Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.3%, owning 120,098 shares worth approximately $118.89 million at the end of the second quarter.
• Costco reported a quarterly EPS of $5.87, exceeding analyst estimates, with revenues of $86.16 billion, showing an 8.1% year-over-year increase.
• Institutional investors hold 68.48% of Costco's stock, with significant recent activity including stake increases by various funds and sales by company insiders.

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 120,098 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 1,539 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $118,890,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.4% during the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $236,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $3,095,000. Rossmore Private Capital lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the first quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 6,687 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,325,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $241,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $916.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $406.61 billion, a PE ratio of 50.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 0.97. The business's fifty day moving average price is $955.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $971.72. 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 12 month low of $867.16 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.15 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 28.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company'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. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on COST. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Erste Group Bank lowered Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Argus upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,072.00.

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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