Capital Wealth Alliance LLC Has $957,000 Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Capital Wealth Alliance LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,126 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Alliance LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Vima LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at $48,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, August 5th. Argus raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $676.00 target price (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Loop Capital increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $970.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $920.00 to $915.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $824.50.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST traded up $1.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $879.21. 1,304,110 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,967,249. The company has a market cap of $389.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.78. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $530.56 and a 1 year high of $896.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $850.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $786.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted 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. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,015,745. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,249,526 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.