Natixis Reduces Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Natixis lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,976 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 15,071 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 0.5% of Natixis’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Natixis’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $106,890,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 72.0% in the 2nd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $894.68 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $397.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.07 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $919.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $954.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $871.71 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23.

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 business had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.15 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on COST. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $907.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,023.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value of $1,157,994.18. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total value of $2,232,312.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,860,260. This represents a 54.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.