Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Stock Position Increased by Cwm LLC

Key Points

• Cwm LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 9.4% in Q2, holding 69,235 shares valued at approximately $68.54 million.
• Costco reported Q4 earnings of $5.87 EPS, surpassing analysts' estimates, with total revenue reaching $86.16 billion, marking an 8.1% year-over-year growth.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30, yielding 0.6%, reflecting a 28.56% payout ratio.

Cwm LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,235 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 5,946 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $68,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock worth $40,332,515,000 after purchasing an additional 443,101 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,332,009 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,097,127,000 after purchasing an additional 18,045 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,695,796,000 after purchasing an additional 191,985 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,461,159,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,357,630 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,175,579,000 after purchasing an additional 125,441 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $930.01 on Monday. 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 Corporation has a one year low of $867.34 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $412.16 billion, a PE ratio of 51.07, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $952.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $972.00.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup reduced 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. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,066.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Company 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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