Brown Financial Advisors Makes New $1.33 Million Investment in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Brown Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,563 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,328,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on COST. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Bank of America upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Truist Financial lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $883.04.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $877.38 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $871.96 and its 200-day moving average is $819.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $388.97 billion, a PE ratio of 54.36, a PEG ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $540.23 and a 52 week high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 16.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

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.