Chilton Investment Co. Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST – Free Report) by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 401,461 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 10,794 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 6.3% of Chilton Investment Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Costco Wholesale worth $216,139,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 118,320.2% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,396,524 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,376,513,000 after buying an additional 7,390,278 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,328,844,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 218,503.2% in the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,563,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,918,373,000 after purchasing an additional 3,561,602 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 846.8% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,535,938 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $143,580,000 after purchasing an additional 2,268,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,634,627 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,941,708,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315,174 shares during the last quarter. 66.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Costco Wholesale Stock Performance
Costco Wholesale stock traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $610.78. 1,502,329 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,618,383. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $574.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $553.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $270.42 billion, a PE ratio of 43.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 0.78. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $447.90 and a one year high of $613.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 26th. The retailer reported $4.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.79 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $78.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.72 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.10% and a net margin of 2.60%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.20 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.7 earnings per share for the current year.
Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 3rd were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 2nd. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.81%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale
In other Costco Wholesale news, VP Patrick J. Callans sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $553.76, for a total value of $1,384,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 67,934 shares in the company, valued at $37,619,131.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Caton Frates sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.64, for a total transaction of $675,168.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,705,358.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Patrick J. Callans sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $553.76, for a total value of $1,384,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 67,934 shares in the company, valued at $37,619,131.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,265 shares of company stock worth $10,797,118 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
COST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $600.00 to $612.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $510.00 to $525.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. Raymond James raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $570.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $651.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $594.60.
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.