BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Raises Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 48.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 412,578 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 135,120 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 0.9% of BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.'s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned approximately 0.09% of Costco Wholesale worth $365,758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $980.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Gordon Haskett raised Costco Wholesale from an "accumulate" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $925.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $928.08 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $577.71 and a 52-week high of $962.00. The stock has a market cap of $411.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.01, a PEG ratio of 5.74 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $899.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $862.71.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.86 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the firm'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 approximately $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. This represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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