Drive Wealth Management LLC Acquires 37 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,271 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 22.3% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,719 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,408 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.3% in the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 7,298 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,347,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 120.4% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 7,515 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,506,000 after buying an additional 4,106 shares during the period. Finally, Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 500.0% during the first quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 60,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $43,958,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.8 %

COST stock opened at $907.07 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $897.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $859.62. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $572.24 and a 1-year high of $962.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $401.90 billion, a PE ratio of 54.74, a PEG ratio of 5.60 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.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $905.30.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,409.10. This represents a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.