River Street Advisors LLC Has $1.94 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

River Street Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,186 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.1% of River Street Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. River Street Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,938,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,534,464,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.1% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,802,147,000 after acquiring an additional 285,533 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,650,562 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,102,941,000 after acquiring an additional 88,550 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.2% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,253,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473,248 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, November 4th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Melius Research began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $905.30.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.8 %

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $16.82 during trading on Friday, hitting $907.07. 2,269,945 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,930,030. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $572.24 and a 52 week high of $962.00. The company has a market capitalization of $401.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.74, a PEG ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s 50 day moving average is $897.62 and its 200 day moving average is $857.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were 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 owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.