Greenspring Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Greenspring Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 776 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $718,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 635.7% during the second quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,206 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on COST shares. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $16.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, December 12th. Northcoast Research set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $994.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at $6,410,343.68. This trade represents a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Javier Polit sold 2,049 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $867.21, for a total value of $1,776,913.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 10,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,320,773.08. This represents a 16.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,946 shares of company stock worth $8,175,048. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $854.50 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $379.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.77, a P/E/G ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.02. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $844.06 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $894.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $934.32.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.07. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 29.35%. The business had revenue of $67.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.85%.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a global chain of membership-only warehouse clubs that sell a wide array of merchandise in bulk at discounted prices. The company’s product mix includes groceries, fresh and frozen food, household goods, electronics, apparel, and seasonal items, augmented by its prominent private-label brand, Kirkland Signature. Costco’s business model centers on annual membership fees and high-volume, low-margin sales, designed to drive repeat purchasing and strong customer loyalty among both consumers and small-business buyers.

Beyond merchandise, Costco provides a range of ancillary services that complement its warehouses, including gasoline stations, pharmacy and optical services, hearing aid centers, photo services, and travel and insurance products.