Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by GLOBALT Investments LLC GA

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,752 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 103 shares during the quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Phillips Financial Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.9% during the third quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 55,041 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $48,795,000 after acquiring an additional 921 shares during the period. Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $238,000. Claro Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 2,777 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,462,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the period. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.0% in the third quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 138,911 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $123,147,000 after buying an additional 4,021 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $907.07 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $897.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $859.62. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $572.24 and a 12-month high of $962.00. The firm has a market cap of $401.90 billion, a PE ratio of 54.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.86 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business 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 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % 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 valued at $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on COST shares. Melius Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $905.30.

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.