Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Holdings Raised by Wealth Architects LLC

Wealth Architects LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,341 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Wealth Architects LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COST. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the first quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,004,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.3% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,719 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after buying an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $86,000. CFO4Life Group LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% during the first quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 964 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $706,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 15,968 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,699,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $899.25 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $398.43 billion, a PE ratio of 54.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $562.01 and a 12 month high of $923.83. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $891.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $848.69.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 28.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, 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 hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Melius Research began 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. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $905.30.

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.