Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Buys 741 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.6%, owning a total of 21,524 shares worth approximately $21.3 million as of the latest reporting period.
• Costco reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, with revenue rising 8.1% year-over-year to $86.16 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, resulting in a 0.6% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 28.56%.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,524 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 741 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $21,307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at $61,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $914.80 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.34 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. 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 firm has a market cap of $405.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.24, a PEG ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $952.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $971.37.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. 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. Daiwa Capital Markets decreased their price target 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. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,067.19.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

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 value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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