Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC Purchases 746 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC increased its stake in Costco by 73.1% in the second quarter, now owning 1,766 shares valued at about $1.748 million.
• Costco recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30, representing an annualized dividend of $5.20 with a yield of 0.6%.
• Several analysts have adjusted their target prices for Costco shares, with JPMorgan Chase lowering their price target from $1,160 to $1,050, while maintaining an "overweight" rating.

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 73.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,766 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 746 shares during the quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.4% in the first quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 1,076 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. James J. Burns & Company LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.8% in the first quarter. James J. Burns & Company LLC now owns 818 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $774,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.3% in the first quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 354 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 report on Friday. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,069.58.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 2.9%

NASDAQ COST opened at $915.95 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $955.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $971.07. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $867.16 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $406.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.30, a P/E/G ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 31.10% and a net margin of 2.94%.The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.15 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

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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