Valmark Advisers Inc. owns $2 million in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST – Free Report) by 16.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,351 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Holdings of Valmark Advisers Inc. in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,628,694,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at about $510,353,000. Assenagon Asset Management SA raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 287.3% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management SA now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $710,802,000 after acquiring an additional 620,341 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3,647.1% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 567,641 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $374,688,000 after acquiring an additional 552,492 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,360,168 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,640,940,000 after acquiring an additional 485,051 shares during the period. 68.48% of shares are owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Wall Street analyst weighs in

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $920.00 to $915.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th . Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $824.50, according to MarketBeat.com.

Check out our latest COST report

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale opened at $892.38 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $539.31 and a 12-month high of $918.93. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $854.20 and its 200-day moving average is $795.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $395.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.29, a PEG ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Your Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. In the same quarter last year, the business posted earnings of $3.43 per share. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. to post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider buying and selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available on the SEC’s website. In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed via this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856. 0.18% of shares are owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Profile

(Free report)

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of member 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 wide range of merchandise categories.

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