ERn Financial LLC Trims Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• ERn Financial LLC significantly reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 69.9%, now holding only 576 shares valued at approximately $570,000.
• Several institutional investors have made adjustments to their positions in Costco, with Hedge funds and other institutions owning 68.48% of the company's stock.
• Costco recently reported quarterly earnings, revealing an EPS of $5.87 which exceeded expectations, alongside a revenue of $86.16 billion, marking an 8.1% increase year-over-year.

ERn Financial LLC lowered its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 69.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 576 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,337 shares during the quarter. ERn Financial LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alpine Bank Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management now owns 952 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $942,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 22,208 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $21,985,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Astoria Strategic Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $206,000. New Perspectives Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 4,658 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,612,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. 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. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,069.58.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 2.9%

COST opened at $915.95 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $867.16 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The company has a market cap of $406.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.30, a PEG ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $955.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $971.63.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released 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. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The business had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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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