ERn Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST – Free Report) by 2.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The company owned 2,088 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the quarter. ERn Financial LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Oak Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the second quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,737,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 995 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 790 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $671,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the same period. LifePro Asset Management increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. LifePro Asset Management now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Finally, Southland Equity Partners LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 574 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco wholesale down 0.8%

NASDAQ:COST opened at $870.59 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $848.44 and a 200-day moving average of $781.98. The company has a market cap of $385.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $530.56 and a 52-week high of $896.67.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30. The retailer reported earnings per share of $3.78 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. In the same quarter last year, the company generated earnings per share of $3.43. The company’s revenue for the quarter increased 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will report earnings per share of $15.98 for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Insider activity

In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. After the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC’s website. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. After the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The disclosure regarding this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,970 shares of the company’s stock in the last 90 days, valued at $4,249,526. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts set new price targets

COST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $925.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, August 5th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “Equal Weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11. Seven equities analysts have rated the stock with a “Hold” rating and twenty have given the company’s stock a “Buy” rating. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $824.50.

Get our latest research report on COST

About Costco Wholesale

(Free report)

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates member 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.

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