Interchange Capital Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Interchange Capital Partners LLC reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale by 83.2%, ending the second quarter with only 170 shares valued at $168,000 after selling 842 shares.
• Several hedge funds adjusted their positions in Costco, with Financial Connections Group Inc. increasing their stake by 975.0% during the same quarter.
• Costco recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30, set to be paid on November 14th, representing a 0.5% dividend yield.

Interchange Capital Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 83.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 170 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 842 shares during the period. Interchange Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 72.0% during the 2nd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $1,115.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,068.04.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 9,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ COST opened at $954.99 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $867.34 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $951.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $971.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $423.23 billion, a PE ratio of 52.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. 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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