Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by LRI Investments LLC

LRI Investments LLC reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 704 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 42 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $697,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during 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 last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Argus increased their target price 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, September 29th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,066.23.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.4%

COST stock opened at $930.01 on Monday. 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $952.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $972.00. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $867.34 and a 52-week 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 firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.15 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

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.