Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Holdings Lifted by Executive Wealth Management LLC

Executive Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,358 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Executive Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,750,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,252,274,000 after purchasing an additional 324,973 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,534,464,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,650,562 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,102,941,000 after purchasing an additional 88,550 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,127 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,013,394,000 after purchasing an additional 125,444 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,075,065 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,726,107,000 after purchasing an additional 70,561 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.5 %

COST stock opened at $987.86 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $618.76 and a 52-week high of $997.71. The company has a 50-day moving average of $917.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $880.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $437.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted 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. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $980.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $928.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the 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. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was 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 directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.