Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by Capital Investment Counsel LLC

Capital Investment Counsel LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,365 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 2.2% of Capital Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Capital Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $12,735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.3% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,719 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 74.9% in the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 7,715 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,652,000 after buying an additional 3,303 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 210.5% in the first quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $783,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 69.2% during the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 3,866 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,581 shares during the period. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $5,471,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Ten investment 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 $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $964.01 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $901.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $865.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $582.83 and a 12-month high of $976.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $427.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % 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 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale 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.