Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stake Boosted by Navellier & Associates Inc.

Navellier & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,640 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,054 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 2.6% of Navellier & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Navellier & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,184,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $6,534,464,000 after buying an additional 7,364,453 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.5% in the second 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. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,127 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,013,394,000 after acquiring an additional 125,444 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 28.2% during the second 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 period. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,253,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,248 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $930.55 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $582.83 and a 1 year high of $962.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $412.30 billion, a PE ratio of 56.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.80. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $899.35 and its 200-day moving average is $862.71.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on COST. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $908.81.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.