Mengis Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Mengis Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 13.2%, now holding 11,087 shares worth approximately $10.98 million.
• Several institutional investors have also recently changed their positions in Costco, with new stakes and significant increases, leading to institutional ownership rising to 68.48% of the company's stock.
• Costco reported earnings of $5.87 per share, exceeding analyst estimates, with a quarterly revenue of $86.16 billion, representing a growth of 8.1% year-over-year.

Mengis Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,087 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,690 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 2.3% of Mengis Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Mengis Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of COST. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth about $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth about $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $7,588,685 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $930.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $412.16 billion, a PE ratio of 51.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.72 and a beta of 0.98. 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's 50 day moving average is $952.05 and its 200 day moving average is $971.48. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.34 and a 1 year 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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.15 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on COST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday. Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets dropped 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 report on Tuesday, September 30th. Nineteen research 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 company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,066.23.

About Costco Wholesale

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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