Ted Buchan & Co Makes New Investment in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ted Buchan & Co purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,149 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,677,000. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 1.4% of Ted Buchan & Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Vima LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth about $48,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other 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 value of $1,266,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $886.52 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $393.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $540.23 and a 1-year high of $923.83. The business’s 50 day moving average is $871.45 and its 200-day moving average is $818.37.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 16.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Redburn Atlantic cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $780.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $883.04.

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.