BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Trims Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 11.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 122,150 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 15,942 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.2% of BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $120,921,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Peterson Wealth Services lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the second quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI now owns 16,888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,718,000 after buying an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% in the second quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 15,799 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $15,640,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,356,271 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,920,107,000 after acquiring an additional 711,560 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,638 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $20,430,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 29th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,025.00 to $1,027.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $998.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total transaction of $2,232,312.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,860,260. The trade was a 54.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,720 shares of company stock worth $9,010,257. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $884.47 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.12 and a twelve 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. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $916.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $951.10. The firm has a market cap of $392.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.37, a PEG ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $67.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.03 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 2.96%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.04 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.56%.

About Costco Wholesale

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.