Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by Americana Partners LLC

Americana Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 20.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,236 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,871 shares during the quarter. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $892.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $395.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.29, a P/E/G ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $854.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $794.02. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $539.31 and a 1-year high of $918.93.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.43 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $925.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $824.50.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 accessible through this link. In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’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 transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.