EP Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 129,671 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 22,217 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.2% of EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $110,219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Vima LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on COST shares. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $980.00 target price (up previously from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $881.19.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.8 %

COST opened at $885.62 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $392.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $540.23 and a one year high of $923.83. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $870.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $817.28.

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. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 16.02 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,015,745. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.