Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC Sells 1,621 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale by 40% during the 2nd quarter, selling 1,621 shares to end up with 2,427 shares, which now represents 1.8% of their investment portfolio.
• Costco Wholesale recently reported earnings of $5.87 per share, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, scheduled to be paid on November 14.
• Analysts have lowered price targets for Costco, with Evercore ISI cutting it from $1,060 to $1,025 while maintaining an "outperform" rating, and the stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,427 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,621 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.8% of Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,276,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Corps Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,463,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer's stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the first quarter. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,638 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,499,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Aspect Partners LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Viewpoint Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the first quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,543,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. BTIG Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $1,115.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $941.21 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $417.13 billion, a PE ratio of 51.73, a P/E/G ratio of 5.69 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company's fifty day moving average is $946.70 and its 200-day moving average is $971.28.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.15 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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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