Baxter Bros Inc. Lowers Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Baxter Bros Inc. reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,741 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 201 shares during the quarter. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,916,000. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC now owns 2,462 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,437,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC now owns 4,144 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,103,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 17,011 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,840,000 after buying an additional 1,404 shares during the period. Finally, Morey & Quinn Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Morey & Quinn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 843 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $835,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $942.89 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $952.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $971.48. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $867.34 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $418.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.78, a PEG ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.15 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $7,588,685 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on COST. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 29th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,066.23.

Costco Wholesale 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.