Stonebrook Private Inc. Increases Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Stonebrook Private Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,396 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $6,534,464,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,253,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473,248 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 287.3% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $710,802,000 after acquiring an additional 620,341 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,266,000 after acquiring an additional 618,383 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $285,618,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $980.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, November 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $908.81.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value 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 30.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $964.01 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $901.18 and its 200 day moving average is $864.82. The company has a market cap of $427.12 billion, a PE ratio of 58.18, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $582.83 and a 1 year high of $976.30.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the company earned $4.86 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend 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.