Golden State Equity Partners Increases Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Golden State Equity Partners lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,262 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the quarter. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $879.09 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $892.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $842.70. The firm has a market cap of $389.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.05, a P/E/G ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $549.06 and a 52 week 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.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $20,560,344. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction 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 represents a 0.00 % 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was 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 directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 ninety days, insiders sold 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $980.00 price target (up from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Melius Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $894.57.

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.