ORG Partners LLC Has $1.97 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 744.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,321 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,046 shares during the quarter. ORG Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,968,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Steele Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. Steele Capital Management Inc. now owns 534 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 998 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $848,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 4,490 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,816,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 7,717 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,560,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,481 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $20,809,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $2.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $862.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,277,560 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,990,541. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $530.56 and a fifty-two week high of $896.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $382.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.45, a PEG ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $846.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $779.49.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were 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 $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were 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 $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $848.53, for a total transaction of $1,272,795.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,327,041.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,350 shares of company stock valued at $2,837,131. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price 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. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $676.00 price objective (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $824.50.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.