Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 429 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the quarter. Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC grew its holdings in 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 during the period. eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $61,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on COST. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,130.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,067.19.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $915.38 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $953.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $971.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $405.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $867.34 and a one year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were 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. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.