Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. Has $10.37 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10,477 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 4.9% of Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 17.2% in the second quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 3,182 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,150,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 19.2% in the second quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. now owns 2,384 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,360,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.1% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,096,683 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,085,650,000 after buying an additional 22,096 shares during the last quarter. MN Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.4% during the second quarter. MN Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 700 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Michigan Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 359 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $932.14 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $945.23 and its 200 day moving average is $971.67. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $867.34 and a one year high of $1,078.23. 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 stock has a market cap of $413.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.19, a P/E/G ratio of 5.72 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,068.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. This trade represents a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,373,175 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Costco Wholesale

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.