Sanctuary Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 104,023 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $88,419,000. Costco Wholesale accounts for 0.6% of Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Oak Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,737,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,518,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 995 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $729,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 790 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $671,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LifePro Asset Management raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. LifePro Asset Management now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Gordon Haskett raised Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $980.00 price target (up from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $883.04.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $877.38 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $540.23 and a 1 year high of $923.83. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $871.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $819.44. The company has a market cap of $388.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.36, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 16.02 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company 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.