Cerity Partners LLC Raises Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 393,707 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 6,716 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 0.7% of Cerity Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $389,740,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.6% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Luminist Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Luminist Capital LLC now owns 128 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Birchbrook Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.5% in the first quarter. Birchbrook Inc. now owns 456 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.4% during the second quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 159 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Wagner Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.4% during the second quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 330 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total transaction of $2,232,312.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,860,260. This trade represents a 54.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total value of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. The trade was a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on COST shares. Argus upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,023.41.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $894.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $919.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $955.24. The company has a market cap of $396.50 billion, a PE ratio of 49.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.07 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $871.71 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

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.