Congress Asset Management Co. Raises Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 283,022 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.7% of Congress Asset Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $250,905,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $431,940.00. Following 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 SEC, which is available through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Redburn Atlantic cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $894.57.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $874.18 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 52 week low of $549.06 and a 52 week high of $923.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $387.32 billion, a PE ratio of 52.76, a PEG ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $892.24 and its 200-day moving average is $842.92.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business 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 posted $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.00%.

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.