Grandview Asset Management LLC Has $2.42 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Grandview Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,733 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 62 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.4% of Grandview Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Grandview Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,916,118,000 after buying an additional 473,702 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,802,147,000 after purchasing an additional 285,533 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised 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 worth $3,102,941,000 after purchasing an additional 88,550 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,790,935 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,842,241,000 after purchasing an additional 81,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 338,780 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on COST shares. StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $883.04.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST traded up $7.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $883.11. 1,517,311 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,961,015. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $540.23 and a one year high of $923.83. The firm has a market cap of $391.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.72, a PEG ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $875.41 and a 200-day moving average of $821.91.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The business 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 31.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at $20,560,344. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,174 shares of company stock worth $7,097,624 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.