Maverick Capital Ltd. Invests $244,000 in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 275 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.1 %

COST stock opened at $971.88 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $907.62 and a 200 day moving average of $872.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $430.61 billion, a PE ratio of 58.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $582.83 and a 52 week high of $976.30.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.86 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $980.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price on the stock. Ten research 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $908.81.

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.