KPP Advisory Services LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

KPP Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 982 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $871,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at about $1,535,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 291,617 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $258,524,000 after acquiring an additional 7,858 shares in the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Evolution Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 306 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 40.2% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 47,938 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,498,000 after purchasing an additional 13,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vawter Financial Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 17.3% in the third quarter. Vawter Financial Ltd. now owns 420 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.8 %

COST stock traded down $16.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $907.07. The company had a trading volume of 2,269,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,930,030. The company has a market capitalization of $401.90 billion, a PE ratio of 54.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $897.62 and a 200 day moving average of $857.72. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $572.24 and a 12 month high of $962.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced 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. 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%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $905.30.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.