Stephens Inc. AR Acquires 538 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Stephens Inc. AR grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,397 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 538 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 62.8% in the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares during the period. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 66.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 3,088 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 52.1% in the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,620 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,424,000. Finally, WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 328.4% in the 3rd quarter. WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $877.31 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $388.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.95, a PEG ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $892.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $844.03. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $552.01 and a one year high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued 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 business had revenue of $79.70 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. Research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on COST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $894.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.