Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Buys 310,197 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Valeo Financial Advisors LLC significantly increased its stake in Costco Wholesale, acquiring an additional 310,197 shares during the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to 323,288 shares, worth approximately $320 million.
• Costco reported $5.87 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenues increasing 8.1% year-over-year to $86.16 billion.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on Costco, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,067.19.

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2,369.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 323,288 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 310,197 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.0% of Valeo Financial Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC owned 0.07% of Costco Wholesale worth $320,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 21.2% in the second quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 2,386 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,362,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.9% in the second quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 556 shares of the retailer's stock worth $550,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the second quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 128,101 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $126,688,000 after acquiring an additional 793 shares during the last quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 5.0% during the second quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 1,059 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the second quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 6,579 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,513,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $907.00 price target on Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,067.19.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

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

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ COST opened at $915.38 on Monday. 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 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 $972.15. The stock has a market cap of $405.95 billion, a PE ratio of 50.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during 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%. Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.15 earnings per share. Research analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid 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 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.

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