Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. Purchases 541 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. has increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 4.2%, now owning a total of 13,284 shares valued at approximately $13.15 million.
• Executive Vice President Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares at an average price of $915, reducing his ownership by 25.77% to 9,740 shares.
• Costco's recent earnings report exceeded expectations with $5.87 earnings per share and $86.16 billion in revenue, marking an 8.1% increase compared to the previous year.

Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,284 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the period. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,628 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,160,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares during the period. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at about $5,766,000. Finally, Carr Financial Group Corp raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.9% during the first quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 719 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $680,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $1,115.00 target price on the stock. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of COST stock opened at $936.33 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $867.34 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $949.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $971.53. The company has a market capitalization of $414.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.42, a PEG ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business 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 firm posted $5.15 EPS. The firm's quarterly 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.