Mezzasalma Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Mezzasalma Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,591 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.4% of Mezzasalma Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,545,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,461,159,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 418,980.3% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 2,359,422 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,335,686,000 after buying an additional 2,358,859 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $40,332,515,000 after acquiring an additional 443,101 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 84.0% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 812,188 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $768,114,000 after acquiring an additional 370,806 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2,369.5% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 323,288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $320,036,000 after acquiring an additional 310,197 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 target price for the company. Argus raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $936.33 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.34 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $949.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $971.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $414.96 billion, a PE ratio of 51.42, a P/E/G ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.