Ghe LLC Has $5.72 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ghe LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,475 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 2.4% of Ghe LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Ghe LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of COST. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 valued at $29,916,118,000 after purchasing an additional 473,702 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 7,364,453 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,802,147,000 after acquiring an additional 285,533 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,650,562 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,102,941,000 after acquiring an additional 88,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 28.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,078 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,307,363,000 after acquiring an additional 338,780 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $6.89 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $925.49. 96,496 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,921,261. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $572.24 and a 12-month high of $962.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $410.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.27, a PEG ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $895.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $855.44.

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. The firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at $20,015,745. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,136 shares of company stock worth $10,806,570. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $905.30.

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.