Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Stock Position Trimmed by Westfield Capital Management Co. LP

Key Points

• Westfield Capital Management trimmed its Costco stake by 2.4% in Q2, selling 3,530 shares and leaving it with 144,626 shares worth about $143.17 million; institutional investors own roughly 68.48% of the company.
• Significant insider selling—EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares at ~$935.68 and Tiffany Barbre sold 1,239 shares at ~$934.62 on Oct. 24, and insiders have sold 9,720 shares (~$9.01 million) over the past 90 days, leaving insiders with 0.18% ownership.
• Recent results and payout: Costco beat Q results (EPS $5.87 vs. $5.81) with revenue of $86.16B, up 8.1% YoY; market cap ≈ $394.7B, P/E ~48.9, and it pays a quarterly dividend of $1.30 ($5.20 annual, ~0.6% yield).

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP trimmed its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 144,626 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 3,530 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $143,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. PKS Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,061,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. GDS Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 29.2% in the second quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 10,655 shares of the retailer's stock worth $10,548,000 after purchasing an additional 2,405 shares in the last quarter. Athena Investment Management bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $208,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.2% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 235,595 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $233,225,000 after purchasing an additional 19,888 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 15,367 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $15,212,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. This trade represents a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total transaction of $1,157,994.18. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,966.10. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $890.60 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $871.71 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $394.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.91, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50-day moving average of $930.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $964.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.15 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on COST. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,025.07.

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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