DAVENPORT & Co LLC Has $126.69 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale to approximately $126.69 million, holding 128,101 shares after a 0.6% increase during Q2.
• Costco recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, contributing to an annualized yield of 0.6%.
• In Q2, Costco reported $5.87 EPS, which exceeded analysts' expectations, with a revenue increase of 8.1% year-over-year.

DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 128,101 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 793 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $126,688,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC increased 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. eCIO Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth approximately $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $61,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $915.38 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $405.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.27, a PEG ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.34 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $953.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $972.15.

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. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for 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 business's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.15 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 28.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on COST shares. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Erste Group Bank cut Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,130.00 target price 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 given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,067.19.

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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