German American Bancorp Inc. Acquires 782 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

German American Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,626 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 782 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.3% of German American Bancorp Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. German American Bancorp Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $12,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its position 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 period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on COST. TD Cowen increased 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. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price target on the stock. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus 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 stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $928.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $411.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.01, a PEG ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $577.71 and a 52-week high of $962.00. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $899.35 and its 200 day moving average is $862.71.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

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.