Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,568 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 78 shares during the quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,916,118,000 after acquiring an additional 473,702 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,628,694,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,802,147,000 after purchasing an additional 285,533 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,049,630,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,794,480 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,844,581,000 after purchasing an additional 85,398 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was 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 directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was 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 directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $848.53, for a total value of $1,272,795.00. Following the sale, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,350 shares of company stock worth $2,837,131. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $5.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $822.08. The company had a trading volume of 2,598,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,182,416. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $530.56 and a 1-year high of $896.67. The firm has a market cap of $364.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $843.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $771.58.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter last 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 predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $875.00 target price (up from $800.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Loop Capital upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $970.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $905.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Argus increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $805.46.

Costco Wholesale 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.