Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Holdings Decreased by Simmons Bank

Simmons Bank reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,251 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 83 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 0.9% of Simmons Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $12,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 72.0% in the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth about $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on COST shares. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Daiwa Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Argus boosted their price objective 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. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Roth Capital set a $907.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,064.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,410,343.68. The trade was a 28.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:COST opened at $940.74 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $871.71 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $939.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $969.58. The stock has a market cap of $416.92 billion, a PE ratio of 51.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results 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. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 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.