Ironsides Asset Advisors LLC Purchases 75 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ironsides Asset Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 441 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Ironsides Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the first quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,004,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 22.3% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,719 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after buying an additional 1,408 shares in the last quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $86,000. CFO4Life Group LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the first quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 964 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $706,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 15,968 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,699,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. 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 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of COST opened at $899.25 on Thursday. 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 $398.43 billion, a PE ratio of 54.27, 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $891.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $848.69.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released 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 analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.86 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average 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.