Pinnacle Wealth Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Pinnacle Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 942 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $801,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Oak Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the second quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,737,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the second quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,518,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the first quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 995 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $729,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the second quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 790 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Finally, LifePro Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the second quarter. LifePro Asset Management now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $5.75 on Friday, reaching $892.38. 1,933,485 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,963,146. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company’s 50-day moving average is $853.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $792.84. The firm has a market cap of $395.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.29, a P/E/G ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.78. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $539.31 and a 1-year high of $918.93.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.43 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Citigroup upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $925.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $824.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,015,745. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.