NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Increases Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,786 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,038 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.1% of NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $37,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,534,464,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,253,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,248 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 287.3% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $710,802,000 after purchasing an additional 620,341 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,266,000 after purchasing an additional 618,383 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,916,118,000 after purchasing an additional 473,702 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2 %

COST opened at $891.22 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $540.23 and a fifty-two week high of $923.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average of $891.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $839.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $394.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.79, a PEG ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on COST. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.