Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Position Increased by Empower Advisory Group LLC

Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 168,641 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,745 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $149,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Dillon & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 7,467 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,623,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 18.4% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 22,963 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $20,357,000 after buying an additional 3,561 shares during the last quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the third quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 2,094 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,856,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,168,000. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 45,777 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $40,582,000 after acquiring an additional 1,672 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,671,983.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,136 shares of company stock valued at $10,806,570 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Melius Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $905.30.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $932.38 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $894.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $854.01. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $572.24 and a one year high of $962.00. 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 cap of $413.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.27, a PEG ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

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.