Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Has $41.10 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 46,361 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,717 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $41,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second 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 acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth approximately $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during 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 institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,015,745. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,015,745. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $879.09 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $549.06 and a 1 year high of $923.83. The firm has a market cap of $389.50 billion, a PE ratio of 53.05, a P/E/G ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $892.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $842.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Gordon Haskett raised Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $894.57.

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.