Patton Fund Management Inc. Sells 2,119 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management Inc. reduced its position in Costco by 43.2%, selling 2,119 shares and holding 2,781 shares worth approximately $2.75 million.
• Analysts have expressed optimism about Costco, with Goldman Sachs raising their price target from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and issuing a "buy" rating.
• Costco reported earnings of $5.87 EPS for the quarter, exceeding expectations and showing an 8.1% year-over-year revenue growth with total revenues of $86.16 billion.

Patton Fund Management Inc. trimmed its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 43.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,781 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,119 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC boosted its position 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $59,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on COST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,069.58.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $915.95 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $955.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $970.76. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.16 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The company has a market capitalization of $406.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.30, a P/E/G ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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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