Ascent Group LLC Boosts Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,861 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 0.8% of Ascent Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 15.8% during the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 3,820 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,247,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.3% in the second quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 11,697 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,942,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Arkos Global Advisors increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arkos Global Advisors now owns 591 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $502,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $14,809,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $955.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $780.00 to $880.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $881.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $885.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $392.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.87, a PEG ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $870.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $816.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $540.23 and a 12 month high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 16.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

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.