Total Investment Management Inc. Acquires New Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 239 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $6,534,464,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,253,508,000 after buying an additional 1,473,248 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 287.3% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $710,802,000 after buying an additional 620,341 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,266,000 after acquiring an additional 618,383 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 473,702 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.3 %

COST opened at $929.86 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $412.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.30, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $894.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $854.01. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $572.24 and a 12 month 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.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,136 shares of company stock worth $10,806,570 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.