TrueWealth Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

TrueWealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 339 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 21,514 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $14,201,000 after purchasing an additional 2,909 shares in the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the first quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 1,010 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Strong Tower Advisory Services grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.9% during the first quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 27,902 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,418,000 after buying an additional 1,627 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’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 sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at $20,560,344. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,249,526. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST traded up $1.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $879.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,305,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,967,249. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $530.56 and a twelve month high of $896.67. The stock has a market cap of $389.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.47, a PEG ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $851.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $787.99. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.43 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is currently 28.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on COST. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $925.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Argus lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.