Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC Sells 11,460 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 20.3%, selling 11,460 shares during the 2nd quarter, leaving them with a total of 44,893 shares valued at approximately $44.4 million.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings for Costco, with 19 analysts recommending a Buy and 11 issuing a Hold rating, alongside a consensus price target of $1,067.19.
• Costco recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $5.87, exceeding estimates, and announced a dividend of $1.30 per share.

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 20.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,893 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 11,460 shares during the quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $44,442,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock worth $40,332,515,000 after acquiring an additional 443,101 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,332,009 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,097,127,000 after purchasing an additional 18,045 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,695,796,000 after purchasing an additional 191,985 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth $3,461,159,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.9% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,357,630 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,175,579,000 after buying an additional 125,441 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several research reports. 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. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,130.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 29th. 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 MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,067.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $910.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $403.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.02, a PEG ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.34 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. 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 50 day moving average of $953.08 and a 200 day moving average of $972.16.

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. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.15 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS 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 given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 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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