Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Sells 983 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 1.0%, selling 983 shares in the second quarter, leaving it with 98,678 shares valued at approximately $97.7 million.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, to be paid on November 14th, with a yield of 0.6%.
• Costco's latest quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $5.87, surpassing estimates and indicating an 8.1% year-over-year revenue growth to $86.16 billion.

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 98,678 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 983 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 2.0% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $97,685,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Corps Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the first quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,463,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.6% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Aspect Partners LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the first quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,543,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the first quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 3,071 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,905,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,373,175 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST traded down $9.91 during trading on Friday, hitting $932.14. 1,636,648 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,602,893. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.34 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The company has a market cap of $413.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.19, a PEG ratio of 5.72 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $945.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $971.67.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.15 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on 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. Erste Group Bank cut Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,068.15.

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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