Carlson Capital Management Has $749,000 Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Carlson Capital Management boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 845 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the quarter. Carlson Capital Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This represents a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST traded down $3.12 on Tuesday, hitting $960.89. 3,240,929 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,934,416. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $902.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $867.47. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $582.83 and a 52-week high of $976.30. 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 capitalization of $425.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.99, a P/E/G ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm 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%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.