Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stake Lifted by Schulhoff & Co. Inc.

Schulhoff & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,415 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 61 shares during the quarter. Schulhoff & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $933.73 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $413.71 billion, a PE ratio of 56.35, a PEG ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $896.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $855.99. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $572.24 and a 52 week high of $962.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was 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 $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, November 4th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $905.30.

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.