Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by Meridian Financial Partners LLC

Meridian Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 414 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of COST. Perpetual Ltd boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Allied Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth about $210,000. Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 328.3% during the 1st quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 1,713 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,255,000 after acquiring an additional 1,313 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 37,398 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $27,398,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bennett Selby Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. Bennett Selby Investments LP now owns 815 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $597,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $889.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $394.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.69, a PEG ratio of 5.48 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $540.23 and a 12 month high of $923.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $889.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $832.21.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.86 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were 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 owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,224 shares of company stock worth $9,974,973. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on COST. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $890.07.

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.