Hartford Investment Management Co. Has $26.50 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Hartford Investment Management Co. has reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 1.2% during the second quarter, owning 26,765 shares worth approximately $26.50 million.
• Costco recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings with a 5.87 EPS, surpassing analysts' estimates, and an annual revenue increase of 8.1% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, amounting to an annualized dividend of $5.20, with a current yield of 0.6%.

Hartford Investment Management Co. lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,765 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 316 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 0.8% of Hartford Investment Management Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Hartford Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $26,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the business'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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:COST opened at $943.31 on Friday. 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 $418.34 billion, a PE ratio of 53.51, a PEG ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $956.40 and a 200-day moving average of $970.87.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.15 EPS. 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,061.30.

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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