Old Port Advisors Grows Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Old Port Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 876 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 27 shares during the quarter. Old Port Advisors’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $745,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.8 %

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $6.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $870.59. The company had a trading volume of 1,516,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,987,382. The stock has a market cap of $385.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.94, a PEG ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.78. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $530.56 and a 1 year high of $896.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business has a fifty day moving average of $848.44 and a 200 day moving average of $781.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.43 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction 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 $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,249,526. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on COST shares. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $925.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $970.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $920.00 to $915.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup increased 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. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $824.50.

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.