L & S Advisors Inc Boosts Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

L & S Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,111 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the quarter. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of COST. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $928.08 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $899.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $862.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $411.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $577.71 and a 52-week high of $962.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $908.81.

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.