Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Acquires 778 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 14.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,985 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 778 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.9% in the third quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 16,480 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $14,462,000 after acquiring an additional 772 shares during the period. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.4% in the third quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. now owns 284 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 56,507 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,095,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the period. Arista Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,545 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,143,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 109,979 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $97,499,000 after buying an additional 14,691 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at $20,015,745. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock traded up $5.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $891.22. 150,933 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,912,974. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $892.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $847.07. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $560.13 and a fifty-two week high of $923.83. The firm has a market cap of $394.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.47, a P/E/G ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.80. 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 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. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Melius Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $980.00 price objective (up from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 27th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $905.30.

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.