Ballentine Partners LLC Purchases 198 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,706 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 198 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $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. grew its position 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 valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This represents a 0.00 % 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 Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $891.22 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $891.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $837.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $394.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $540.23 and a fifty-two week high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.86 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $894.57.

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.