Lake Street Advisors Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,791 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Financial Management Network Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,461,000. West Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 667 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $591,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. HWG Holdings LP now owns 6,429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,699,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,706 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,605,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Oak Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $650,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $891.22 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $540.23 and a 52-week high of $923.83. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $891.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $838.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $394.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted 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 return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were 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 directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price for the company. Barclays increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $980.00 target price (up from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $894.57.

About Costco Wholesale

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.