Draper Asset Management LLC Purchases 437 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Draper Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,293 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 437 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.5% of Draper Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Draper Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, November 4th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $908.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 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 corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $964.01 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $582.83 and a 52-week high of $976.30. The company has a fifty day moving average of $901.18 and a 200-day moving average of $865.47. The company has a market capitalization of $427.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.18, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.86 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

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.