Chiron Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,514 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $3,115,000.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,745,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,518,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Perkins Coie Trust Co raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,675 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,144,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 358 shares of the retailer's stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Horizon Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities analysts have issued reports on COST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a "hold" rating and a $950.00 price target on the stock. Tigress Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $931.89.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Costco Wholesale
Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale
In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.
Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.7 %
NASDAQ:COST traded up $7.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $1,000.66. The company had a trading volume of 937,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,918,914. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $623.21 and a 1 year high of $1,007.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $920.14 and a 200 day moving average of $881.93. The company has a market cap of $443.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.80, a P/E/G ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. Costco Wholesale's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 earnings per share for the current year.
Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.00%.
Costco Wholesale Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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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