Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Stock Position Raised by Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc.

Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,041 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.0% of Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,010,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $916.77 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.34 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $953.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $971.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $406.57 billion, a PE ratio of 50.34, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $1.30 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently 28.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,067.19.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, 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 value of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.