Spire Wealth Management Sells 2,221 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Spire Wealth Management lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,290 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,221 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.9% of Spire Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $24,881,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the second quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 29,256 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,867,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 4,830 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,105,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 30.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 2,643 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,247,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.0% in the second quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 1,529 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the second quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 12,815 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,892,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:COST traded up $5.75 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $892.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,933,485 shares, 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 firm has a market capitalization of $395.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.29, a PEG ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $854.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $794.02. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $539.31 and a 1 year high of $918.93.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.43 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $925.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $920.00 to $915.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $970.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.