First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. Purchases Shares of 654 Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. purchased 654 shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation valued at approximately $647,000 in the second quarter, reflecting increased institutional interest in the retailer.
• Costco's recent earnings report highlighted an EPS of $5.87, surpassing estimates, with quarterly revenue increasing by 8.1% year-over-year to $86.16 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30, translating to a 0.6% yield, with a payout ratio currently at 28.56%.

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 654 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $647,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the second quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI now owns 16,888 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $16,718,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the second quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,638 shares of the retailer's stock worth $20,430,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.4% in the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth about $236,000. Finally, Graybill Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth about $3,095,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.4%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $930.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $412.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.72 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $867.34 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The business's 50-day moving average price is $952.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $971.48. 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 (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.15 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,066.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm's 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $7,588,685. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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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