Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stake Increased by Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 16,530 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,094 shares during the quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $14,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,745,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the second quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,737,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,518,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the third quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,675 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,144,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.7% in the third quarter. Horizon Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of COST stock opened at $964.01 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $901.18 and a 200-day moving average of $864.82. The firm has a market cap of $427.12 billion, a PE ratio of 58.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $582.83 and a 12 month high of $976.30.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.86 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price for the company. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective for the company. Ten 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, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.