Lazari Capital Management Inc. Acquires 84 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Lazari Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 11.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 804 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Oak Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,737,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the second quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the first quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 995 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 790 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LifePro Asset Management increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the second quarter. LifePro Asset Management now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $877.38 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $540.23 and a 52 week high of $923.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $388.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.36, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $871.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $819.44.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 16.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was 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 $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,015,745. 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 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $780.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.