250 Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Purchased by Investment Management Associates Inc. ADV

Investment Management Associates Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 250 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.1% of Investment Management Associates Inc. ADV’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,916,118,000 after purchasing an additional 473,702 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,534,464,000 after buying an additional 7,364,453 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,802,147,000 after buying an additional 285,533 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,650,562 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,102,941,000 after purchasing an additional 88,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 28.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,078 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,307,363,000 after acquiring an additional 338,780 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $905.30.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,136 shares of company stock valued at $10,806,570. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of COST opened at $932.88 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $572.24 and a 52 week high of $962.00. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $413.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.30, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $893.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $852.53.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 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 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.00%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.