Brooklyn Investment Group Raises Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,133 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 134 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.9% of Brooklyn Investment Group’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Brooklyn Investment Group’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.3% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,719 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,655,000 after buying an additional 1,408 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at about $5,471,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 29.1% during the first quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 297 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 26.2% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,117 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $15,471,000 after purchasing an additional 4,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,915,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. StockNews.com cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price for the company. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $908.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $960.89 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $582.83 and a one year high of $976.30. The company has a market capitalization of $425.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.99, a P/E/G ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $902.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $867.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.00%.

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.