Journey Advisory Group LLC Reduces Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Journey Advisory Group LLC reduced its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 9.2%, selling 1,242 shares and retaining 12,325 shares, which now represents 0.9% of its total holdings valued at approximately $12.2 million.
• Several hedge funds increased their stakes in Costco, with notable growth including Anderson Financial Strategies growing its stake by 900% through the acquisition of 36 additional shares.
• Costco recently reported earnings for the quarter, posting $5.87 EPS, surpassing the consensus estimate of $5.81, alongside a revenue increase of 8.1% year-over-year, totaling $86.16 billion.

Journey Advisory Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 9.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,325 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,242 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.9% of Journey Advisory Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Journey Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $12,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of COST. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC grew its stake in 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 during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 72.0% in the 2nd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on COST. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $936.33 on Monday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $414.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.42, a PEG ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.98. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $949.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $971.56. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.34 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was 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 owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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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