Astoria Strategic Wealth Inc. Buys Shares of 232 Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Astoria Strategic Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 232 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd 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 purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the second 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 period. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,224 shares of company stock valued at $9,974,973. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.5 %

COST stock traded up $4.85 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $894.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,613,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,952,117. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $540.23 and a 52-week high of $923.83. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $884.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $829.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $396.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.54, a PEG ratio of 5.53 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last posted 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. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a 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 note on Thursday, October 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.