Liberty One Investment Management LLC Reduces Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Liberty One Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.3%, owning 5,118 shares worth approximately $5 million after selling 401 shares in the second quarter.
• Costco recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, with an annualized rate of $5.20, representing a 0.6% yield.
• Analysts have varying target prices for Costco's stock, with estimates ranging from $950 to $1,200, and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" overall.

Liberty One Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,118 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 401 shares during the quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Argus raised their target price on 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. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,130.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,068.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the company'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 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. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $936.11 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $414.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.41, a PEG ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $867.34 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $948.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $971.70.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.15 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business 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. 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 dividend payout ratio is 28.56%.

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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