Access Financial Services Inc. Acquires Shares of 294 Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Access Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 294 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of COST. Oak Asset Management LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the second quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,737,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the second quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,518,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% during the first quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 995 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $729,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the second quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 790 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LifePro Asset Management boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the second quarter. LifePro Asset Management now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of COST stock traded up $1.65 on Friday, reaching $879.21. The company had a trading volume of 1,305,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,967,249. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $389.78 billion, a PE ratio of 54.47, a PEG ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $851.23 and a 200-day moving average of $788.53. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $530.56 and a 12 month high of $896.67.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.43 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,249,526 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on COST. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 2nd. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $925.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $824.50.

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.