Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Purchased by Maple Capital Management Inc.

Maple Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 63,930 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,759 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 4.3% of Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $63,287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Peterson Wealth Services lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the second quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 13,616 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $13,479,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI now owns 16,888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,718,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,638 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $20,430,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 22.7% during the 2nd quarter. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. now owns 5,903 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,844,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graybill Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at about $3,095,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of COST opened at $913.86 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $937.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $967.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $405.00 billion, a PE ratio of 50.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $871.71 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 (DPR) is presently 28.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total value of $2,526,336.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at $6,410,343.68. This trade represents a 28.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,063.88.

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.