Corundum Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Corundum Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 41.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,056 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the quarter. Corundum Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,748,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.7 %

COST stock traded up $14.64 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $877.35. The stock had a trading volume of 1,921,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,990,293. The firm has a market cap of $388.96 billion, a PE ratio of 54.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $530.56 and a 12-month high of $896.67. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $847.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $780.75.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.43 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $848.53, for a total transaction of $1,272,795.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,327,041.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,249,526 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on COST. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $824.50.

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.