RFG Advisory LLC Boosts Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

RFG Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 20.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,669 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,144 shares during the quarter. RFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $309,000. Round Rock Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $207,000. Financial Council Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $222,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $187,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on COST. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $925.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Argus upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $824.50.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ COST traded up $6.45 on Monday, hitting $861.38. The stock had a trading volume of 1,217,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,995,011. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $844.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $776.95. The stock has a market cap of $381.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $530.56 and a 52-week high of $896.67.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.43 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $848.53, for a total transaction of $1,272,795.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,327,041.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $848.53, for a total transaction of $1,272,795.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,327,041.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,350 shares of company stock worth $2,837,131 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.