AIA Group Ltd Has $7.53 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

AIA Group Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,488 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,525,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth about $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Truist Financial lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Ten equities 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $905.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $24,514,232. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $913.93 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $562.01 and a twelve month high of $923.83. The stock has a market cap of $404.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.16, a P/E/G ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company’s fifty day moving average is $891.92 and its 200-day moving average is $848.69.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors 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 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 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.