Metis Global Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,557 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 0.6% of Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 287.3% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $710,802,000 after purchasing an additional 620,341 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,266,000 after purchasing an additional 618,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,916,118,000 after purchasing an additional 473,702 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were 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 directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, 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 is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $930.90 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $572.24 and a 12 month high of $962.00. 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 has a market cap of $412.45 billion, a PE ratio of 56.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $896.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $855.99.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.86 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS 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 given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $905.30.

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.