Apella Capital LLC Boosts Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Apella Capital LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 11.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,633 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Vima LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at $48,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of COST opened at $875.67 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $874.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $820.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $388.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.25, a PEG ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $540.23 and a one year high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.30% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $980.00 target price (up from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 27th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $955.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $883.04.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,097,624 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.