Index Fund Advisors Inc. Invests $10.71 Million in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Index Fund Advisors Inc. has invested approximately $10.71 million in Costco Wholesale Corporation, acquiring 10,814 shares, making Costco the firm's 15th biggest holding.
• Institutional investors currently hold 68.48% of Costco's stock, with notable recent investments from Nuveen LLC and Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC significantly increasing their positions.
• Costco's recent earnings report indicates a quarterly profit of $5.87 EPS, exceeding expectations, along with a revenue of $86.16 billion, showing an 8.1% year-over-year increase.

Index Fund Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 10,814 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $10,706,000. Costco Wholesale accounts for 0.6% of Index Fund Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $3,461,159,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 418,980.3% during the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 2,359,422 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,335,686,000 after buying an additional 2,358,859 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock worth $40,332,515,000 after buying an additional 443,101 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 84.0% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 812,188 shares of the retailer's stock worth $768,114,000 after buying an additional 370,806 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 2,369.5% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 323,288 shares of the retailer's stock worth $320,036,000 after buying an additional 310,197 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on COST. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,066.23.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $930.01 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $867.34 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The company has a market capitalization of $412.16 billion, a PE ratio of 51.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.98. 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's 50-day moving average is $952.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $972.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.15 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 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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