Moran Wealth Management LLC Acquires 64 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Moran Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,647 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,809,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Agur Provident & Training Funds Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, 25 LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.31% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, CFO Richard A. Galanti sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $565.57, for a total value of $1,131,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,138 shares in the company, valued at $15,914,008.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.75, for a total transaction of $2,509,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,015,333.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Richard A. Galanti sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $565.57, for a total transaction of $1,131,140.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,914,008.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 19,265 shares of company stock worth $10,797,118. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $577.15 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $564.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $543.03. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $447.90 and a 1 year high of $599.89. The stock has a market cap of $255.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.78. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 26th. The retailer reported $4.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.79 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $78.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.72 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 28.10%. The company’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.20 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 3rd were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 2nd. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $570.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 27th. Bank of America upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $575.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $510.00 to $525.00 in a report on Thursday, October 5th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $575.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. Finally, HSBC initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 22nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $586.43.

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.