Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,004 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $890,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Sunflower Bank N.A. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 11.1% in the third quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 638 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $566,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Willner & Heller LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.5% during the 3rd quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 568 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $503,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 556 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC now owns 566 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, McCarthy & Cox bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at approximately $262,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $889.03 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $882.80 and a 200-day moving average of $828.01. The firm has a market cap of $394.14 billion, a PE ratio of 55.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.53 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $540.23 and a twelve month high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at $20,015,745. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,824 shares of company stock valued at $4,260,493 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $980.00 price objective (up previously from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $886.74.

About Costco Wholesale

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.