Eagle Asset Management Inc. Has $14.77 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 15,652 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,156 shares during the quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $14,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COST. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.3% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,719 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 74.9% during the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 7,715 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,652,000 after purchasing an additional 3,303 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 210.5% in the first quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 69.2% during the 1st quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 3,866 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,832,000 after buying an additional 1,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth about $5,471,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $964.01 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $582.83 and a 52 week high of $976.30. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $901.18 and its 200-day moving average is $865.47.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The company 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.86 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

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.