Triton Financial Group Inc Makes New Investment in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Triton Financial Group Inc made a new investment in Costco Wholesale, purchasing 3,987 shares valued at approximately $3.95 million, which now represents 2.9% of its investment portfolio.
• Costco's stock has recently been rated by various analysts, with Evercore ISI and Citigroup lowering their target prices, while BTIG Research initiated coverage with a "buy" rating and a target price of $1,115.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.6%, set to be paid on November 14th to shareholders of record by October 31st.

Triton Financial Group Inc purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,987 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $3,947,000. Costco Wholesale comprises 2.9% of Triton Financial Group Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI now owns 16,888 shares of the retailer's stock worth $16,718,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,638 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $20,430,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,436,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at $3,095,000. Finally, Rossmore Private Capital grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 6,687 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,325,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $1,115.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,068.15.

Insider Transactions 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm'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 transaction, 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. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $936.11 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $414.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.41, a P/E/G ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.98. The company's fifty day moving average is $948.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $971.70. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $867.34 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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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