US Bancorp DE Has $516.15 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 2.1% in Q2, owning 521,388 shares valued at approximately $516.15 million.
• Costco's recent quarterly earnings report indicated an EPS of $5.87, exceeding analyst estimates, with revenues of $86.16 billion, up 8.1% from the previous year.
• Wall Street analysts view Costco positively, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and target prices varying between $907.00 and $1,200.00.

US Bancorp DE lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 521,388 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 11,011 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE owned approximately 0.12% of Costco Wholesale worth $516,151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock worth $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,628 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,160,000 after acquiring an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 41.1% in the 1st quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 618 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $584,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 600 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on COST shares. Argus upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Citigroup cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 29th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,130.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $907.00 price target on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,066.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $3,093,615.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 3.1%

COST stock opened at $942.89 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $867.34 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market cap of $418.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.78, a P/E/G ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98. The business's 50 day moving average is $952.50 and its 200-day moving average is $971.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm 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 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 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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