Benjamin Edwards Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 530.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,604 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,411 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.9% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $62,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $908.81.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.1 %

COST opened at $971.88 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $430.61 billion, a PE ratio of 58.65, a P/E/G ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $582.83 and a one year high of $976.30. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $907.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $872.68.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

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.