M Holdings Securities Inc. Sells 1,136 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

15 Dec 2023, 18:08 by Tristan Rich · The Markets Daily

M Holdings Securities Inc. lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST – Free Report) by 56.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 875 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,136 shares during the period. M Holdings Securities Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IMS Capital Management grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 48.5% during the 2nd quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 3,258 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,754,000 after buying an additional 1,064 shares during the period. CGC Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at $285,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,579 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $850,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 267 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $227,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $482.00 to $502.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 27th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $600.00 to $612.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $510.00 to $525.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. Finally, HSBC initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $598.40.

Check Out Our Latest Report on COST

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $630.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $447.90 and a 1-year high of $642.59. The company has a market capitalization of $279.27 billion, a PE ratio of 44.55, a PEG ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $579.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $556.49.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 14th. The retailer reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.17. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.10% and a net margin of 2.60%. The company had revenue of $57.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.10 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 28th will be given a dividend of $15.00 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous special dividend of $10.00. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.81%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.75, for a total transaction of $2,509,875.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,015,333.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.75, for a total value of $2,509,875.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,015,333.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Patrick J. Callans sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $553.76, for a total value of $1,384,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 67,934 shares in the company, valued at $37,619,131.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,797,118 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Costco Wholesale

(Free Report)

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.