Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Purchased by Orleans Capital Management Corp LA

Orleans Capital Management Corp LA raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 9.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,497 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 560 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 3.4% of Orleans Capital Management Corp LA’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Orleans Capital Management Corp LA’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 72.0% in the 2nd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Erste Group Bank cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,025.07.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $912.90 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $871.71 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $404.58 billion, a PE ratio of 50.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $922.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $959.11.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.15 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total transaction of $1,157,994.18. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,966.10. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257. Corporate 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.