Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale by 37.7%, selling 3,451 shares in the 2nd quarter, leaving them with a total of 5,691 shares valued at approximately $5.6 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their holdings in Costco, with Prasad Wealth Partners LLC raising its stake by 36.4% and Sunbeam Capital Management LLC growing its position by 23.8% during the same period.
• Costco reported earnings per share of $5.87 for the most recent quarter, exceeding expectations, with a net margin of 2.94% and revenue growth of 8.1% year-over-year.

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 37.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,691 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 3,451 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Prasad Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 36.4% in the 2nd quarter. Prasad Wealth Partners LLC now owns 970 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $960,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,664 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,617,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 4,655 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,608,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Roundview Capital LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 17,260 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $17,086,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbeam Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 23.8% in the second quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,310,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the business's 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the business'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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $7,588,685 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on COST. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Citigroup dropped their price target 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. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,067.19.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $914.80 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $405.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $952.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $971.76. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $867.34 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

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 net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.15 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio 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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