IFP Advisors Inc Increases Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• IFP Advisors Inc has increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.0% in the second quarter, now holding 20,593 shares valued at approximately $20.4 million.
• Costco reported $5.87 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $86.16 billion, indicating an 8.1% increase from the previous year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, with a 0.6% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 28.56%.

IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,593 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 974 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $20,416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Callan Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 470.7% in the 2nd quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 21,594 shares of the retailer's stock worth $21,377,000 after acquiring an additional 17,810 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 551,986 shares of the retailer's stock worth $546,433,000 after acquiring an additional 3,087 shares during the last quarter. Rice Partnership LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 13,240 shares of the retailer's stock worth $13,106,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. TFR Capital LLC. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. TFR Capital LLC. now owns 5,977 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,917,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boomfish Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 72.7% in the 2nd quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,109 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,098,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $942.89 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $418.15 billion, a PE ratio of 51.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $952.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $971.48. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $867.34 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The company 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 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.Costco Wholesale's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.15 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the company'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. The trade was a 25.77% 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on COST. Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,130.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price 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. Finally, Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,066.23.

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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