Proffitt & Goodson Inc. Increases Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Proffitt & Goodson Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COSTFree Report) by 23.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 122 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Proffitt & Goodson Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,485,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,704 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,667,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 435 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. BankPlus Trust Department now owns 1,630 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,614,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canopy Partners LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 2,396 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,372,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value 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 approximately $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $7,588,685. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 note on Friday, September 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Erste Group Bank lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,067.19.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $914.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $405.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.24, a P/E/G ratio of 5.52 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. The company has a fifty day moving average of $952.69 and a 200 day moving average of $971.76. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $867.34 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COSTGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.15 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)

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