Hartford Financial Management Inc. Sells 6,224 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Hartford Financial Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 43.8%, selling 6,224 shares and bringing its total shares owned to 7,977.
• Insiders at Costco have sold a total of 7,920 shares in the last ninety days, amidst a noted decrease in their individual positions.
• As of September 25th, Costco reported earnings of $5.87 EPS, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $86.16 billion, reflecting an 8.1% year-over-year growth.

Hartford Financial Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 43.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,977 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 6,224 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 2.2% of Hartford Financial Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Hartford Financial Management Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,896,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock worth $40,332,515,000 after purchasing an additional 443,101 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,332,009 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,097,127,000 after buying an additional 18,045 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,695,796,000 after buying an additional 191,985 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at $3,461,159,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.9% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,357,630 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,175,579,000 after acquiring an additional 125,441 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was 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 owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,130.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on 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. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $932.14 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $945.23 and a 200-day moving average of $971.67. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $867.34 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The company has a market cap of $413.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.19, a P/E/G ratio of 5.72 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The firm 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 for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

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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