Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Boosts Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,985 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,745,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the second quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,737,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the second quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the third quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,675 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,144,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.6 %

COST traded up $5.15 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $891.22. 150,933 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,912,974. The stock has a market cap of $394.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $892.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $847.07. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $560.13 and a twelve month high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released 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. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $905.30.

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.