Wealthstar Advisors LLC Has $429,000 Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Wealthstar Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 434 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during 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 during the period. eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $61,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,066.23.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $930.01 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $952.05 and a 200-day moving average of $971.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $412.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.07, a P/E/G ratio of 5.72 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.34 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The company 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%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685. 0.18% of the stock is 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.