Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by Ascent Wealth Partners LLC

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 559 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 62.8% in the third quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares during the period. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 66.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 3,088 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,738,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 52.1% in the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,620 shares in the last quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $6,424,000. Finally, WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 328.4% in the third quarter. WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $10.24 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $909.49. 189,693 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,914,235. 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 stock has a market cap of $402.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $562.01 and a 12-month high of $923.83. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $891.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $848.69.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business 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 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, 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 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other 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 transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on COST. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of 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 eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $905.30.

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.