Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Holdings Lifted by Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc.

Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,620 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.7% of Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,534,464,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings 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 worth $1,253,508,000 after buying an additional 1,473,248 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 287.3% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $710,802,000 after acquiring an additional 620,341 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $5,266,000 after purchasing an additional 618,383 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,916,118,000 after buying an additional 473,702 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $893.42 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $540.23 and a 52 week high of $923.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $395.85 billion, a PE ratio of 53.92, a PEG ratio of 5.50 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $891.03 and its 200-day moving average is $836.93.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at $20,015,745. This represents 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. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on COST. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Bank of America upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $894.57.

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.