Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by E&G Advisors LP

E&G Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 491 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the quarter. E&G Advisors LP’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,916,118,000 after purchasing an additional 473,702 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,802,147,000 after buying an additional 285,533 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% in 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 buying an additional 88,550 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 28.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,078 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,307,363,000 after buying an additional 338,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,253,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473,248 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $889.56 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $889.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $833.05. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $394.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.12, a P/E/G ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $540.23 and a 12-month high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid 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 payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,224 shares of company stock worth $9,974,973. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $980.00 price target (up previously from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $890.07.

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.