Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 7,363 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 174,846 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,363 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 0.5% of Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $155,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at $217,000. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. now owns 299 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Orleans Capital Management Corp LA grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.4% during the first quarter. Orleans Capital Management Corp LA now owns 6,276 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,598,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Beck Bode LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.7% in the first quarter. Beck Bode LLC now owns 15,697 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,500,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dock Street Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 11.6% in the first quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 346 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $961.55 on Thursday. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $905.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $869.42. The stock has a market cap of $426.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $582.83 and a twelve month high of $976.30.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced 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 net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale 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.