Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Purchased by Merit Financial Group LLC

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 49.2%, owning 32,208 shares worth approximately $31.88 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Costco reported strong quarterly earnings of $5.87 EPS, exceeding estimates and showcasing an 8.1% revenue increase year-over-year, reaching $86.16 billion.
• Several financial analysts have raised their price targets for Costco's stock, with Goldman Sachs increasing its target from $1,333 to $1,418, while the consensus average target is now $1,067.19.

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 49.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 32,208 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 10,616 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $31,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,436,000 after acquiring 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. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $3,095,000. Rossmore Private Capital grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the first quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 6,687 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,325,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% in the first quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,380 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,305,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $915.38 on Monday. 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 1-year low of $867.34 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $405.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $953.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $972.15.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.15 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis 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 Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company'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 owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the 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 owned 9,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target 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. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,130.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,067.19.

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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