Forsta AP Fonden Boosts Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Forsta AP Fonden raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 115,900 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,700 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.8% of Forsta AP Fonden’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $102,748,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at $20,560,344. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Truist Financial downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $980.00 target price (up previously from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $894.57.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of COST opened at $891.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $540.23 and a one year high of $923.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $394.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.79, a PEG ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $891.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $839.41.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

About Costco Wholesale

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.