King Luther Capital Management Corp Boosts Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,631 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 225 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $35,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in 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 valued at $5,655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,408 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 9.2% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 345,037 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $252,785,000 after acquiring an additional 28,942 shares in the last quarter. JT Stratford LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.9% in the first quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 1,419 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,040,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Capital LP boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the first quarter. Guardian Capital LP now owns 50,758 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $37,187,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 32.3% in the first quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $928.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $411.20 billion, a PE ratio of 56.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $899.35 and its 200-day moving average is $862.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $577.71 and a 1 year high of $962.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted 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 net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $980.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $908.81.

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.