Liberty One Investment Management LLC Trims Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Liberty One Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,103 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 719 shares during the quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 price target (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $824.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,249,526 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST traded up $3.85 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $876.20. 1,079,809 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,977,665. The company’s 50-day moving average is $848.92 and its 200 day moving average is $784.34. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $530.56 and a 52 week high of $896.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $388.45 billion, a PE ratio of 54.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.75%.

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.