Portside Wealth Group LLC Increases Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 13.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,384 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. 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 report on Thursday, July 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $905.30.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at $20,015,745. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $913.93 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. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $891.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $848.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $404.93 billion, a PE ratio of 55.16, a P/E/G ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $562.01 and a 52-week high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. Analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. 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.