First Heartland Consultants Inc. Boosts Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

First Heartland Consultants Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,094 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. First Heartland Consultants Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,916,118,000 after purchasing an additional 473,702 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,534,464,000 after buying an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,802,147,000 after acquiring an additional 285,533 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.5% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,650,562 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,102,941,000 after acquiring an additional 88,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,078 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,307,363,000 after purchasing an additional 338,780 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $4.65 on Tuesday, reaching $937.53. 299,155 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,923,234. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $894.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $854.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $415.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.30, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $572.24 and a twelve month high of $962.00. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.86 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at $20,015,745. This represents 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 through the SEC website. In other news, 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 transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,015,745. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,136 shares of company stock worth $10,806,570. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, November 4th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.