Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Lakeside Advisors INC.

Key Points

• Lakeside Advisors INC. has reduced its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 5.8%, selling 835 shares and owning a total of 13,524 shares valued at approximately $13.4 million.
• Costco reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $5.87, surpassing analysts' estimates of $5.81, with revenue increasing by 8.1% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $5.20 with a yield of 0.6%.

Lakeside Advisors INC. lowered its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 5.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,524 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 835 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 8.6% of Lakeside Advisors INC.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Lakeside Advisors INC.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $7,588,685 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $914.80 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $952.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $971.37. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $867.34 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $405.69 billion, a PE ratio of 50.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98. 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 results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 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 firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.15 EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Erste Group Bank lowered Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,130.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Daiwa Capital Markets reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,067.19.

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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