Talbot Financial LLC Has $19.51 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Talbot Financial LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 15.4%, owning 19,710 shares valued at approximately $19.51 million, making it the firm's 19th largest holding.
• Costco reported earnings per share of $5.87 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $5.81, with a revenue of $86.16 billion, noted as an 8.1% increase year-over-year.
• Analysts have set varying price targets for Costco, with Goldman Sachs raising its target to $1,418.00 and others, like Truist Financial, lowering theirs to $1,033.00, reflecting a range of outlooks on the stock's performance.

Talbot Financial LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 15.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,710 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,626 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.8% of Talbot Financial LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Talbot Financial LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at about $3,461,159,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 418,980.3% during the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 2,359,422 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,335,686,000 after buying an additional 2,358,859 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock worth $40,332,515,000 after buying an additional 443,101 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 84.0% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 812,188 shares of the retailer's stock worth $768,114,000 after buying an additional 370,806 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,695,796,000 after buying an additional 191,985 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,067.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the 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 owned 9,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $7,588,685 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $915.38 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $867.34 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. The stock's 50 day moving average is $953.54 and its 200-day moving average is $971.61. 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 company has a market capitalization of $405.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.27, a PEG ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.15 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

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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