Insight Inv LLC Has $567,000 Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Insight Inv LLC significantly reduced its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation, decreasing its shares by 96.1% to 573 shares, valued at approximately $567,000.
• Costco reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $5.87, exceeding analysts' expectations of $5.81, with revenues of $86.16 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, yielding 0.6% annually, with a dividend payout ratio of 28.56%.

Insight Inv LLC lessened its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 96.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 573 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 14,241 shares during the quarter. Insight Inv LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 3.1%

NASDAQ COST opened at $942.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $418.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.78, a P/E/G ratio of 5.55 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $952.50 and its 200-day moving average is $971.48. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $867.34 and a one year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 (DPR) is currently 28.56%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $7,588,685. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,066.23.

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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