Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) is X Square Capital LLC’s 8th Largest Position

X Square Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,354 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 2.1% of X Square Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. X Square Capital LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of COST. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,916,118,000 after purchasing an additional 473,702 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $6,534,464,000 after buying an additional 7,364,453 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,802,147,000 after buying an additional 285,533 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,650,562 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,102,941,000 after acquiring an additional 88,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 28.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,078 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,307,363,000 after acquiring an additional 338,780 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on COST. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $894.57.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $893.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $395.85 billion, a PE ratio of 53.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $540.23 and a 52 week high of $923.83. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $891.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $836.93.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at $20,560,344. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,560,344. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.