Northcape Wealth Management LLC Has $5.76 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Northcape Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,774 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 59 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 2.1% of Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,758,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Oak Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,737,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 995 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 790 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LifePro Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. LifePro Asset Management now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:COST traded up $1.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $879.21. 1,305,753 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,967,249. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $851.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $788.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $389.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.47, a PEG ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.78. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $530.56 and a 12-month 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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,249,526. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $920.00 to $915.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $925.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $925.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $824.50.

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.