Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Acquires 250 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,130 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 250 shares during the quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,889,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $905.30.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $886.07 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $892.07 and its 200-day moving average is $847.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $392.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.47, a PEG ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $560.13 and a 1 year high of $923.83. 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 posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.86 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $20,560,344. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale 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.