Exchange Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Exchange Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 38.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,152 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,160 shares during the quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of COST. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth approximately $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first 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 acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $916.77 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $953.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $971.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $406.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.34, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.34 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.15 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on COST. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Argus increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,130.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,067.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were 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. Insiders sold 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.