Natural Investments LLC Acquires 57 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Natural Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,184 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 0.8% of Natural Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Natural Investments LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of COST opened at $930.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $412.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.07, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $867.34 and a 12-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. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $952.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $971.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued 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. The firm 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 business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.15 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on COST shares. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,066.23.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.