Palumbo Wealth Management LLC Raises Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Palumbo Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,668 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 2.0% of Palumbo Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,025,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,253,508,000 after buying an additional 1,473,248 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 287.3% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $710,802,000 after acquiring an additional 620,341 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,266,000 after acquiring an additional 618,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 473,702 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $874.18 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $892.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $842.92. The company has a market cap of $387.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $549.06 and a fifty-two week high of $923.83. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $980.00 price target (up previously from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $894.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. 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 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction 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. The trade was 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 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.