Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Mitchell Capital Management Co.

Key Points

• Mitchell Capital Management Co. has reduced its stake in Costco by 9.7%, now holding 6,819 shares worth approximately $6.49 million, making it the 21st biggest holding in their investment portfolio.
• Analysts have differing views on Costco's stock, with nineteen rating it a "Buy" and eleven a "Hold," while price targets range from $907.00 to $1,200.00.
• Costco reported a quarterly revenue of $86.16 billion and earnings per share of $5.87, surpassing estimates, and has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30.

Mitchell Capital Management Co. reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 9.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,819 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 730 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.2% of Mitchell Capital Management Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Mitchell Capital Management Co.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,485,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price target on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,130.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on 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. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,066.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the company'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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $930.01 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $412.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.98. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $952.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $972.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.15 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

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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