250 Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Acquired by Aldebaran Financial Inc.

Aldebaran Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 250 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at $446,000. Ted Buchan & Co bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at $2,677,000. IMS Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.1% during the second quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 3,794 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,324,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 316,993 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $269,441,000 after purchasing an additional 3,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Old North State Trust LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 2,273 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,932,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $886.52 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $540.23 and a fifty-two week high of $923.83. The company’s 50-day moving average is $871.45 and its 200 day moving average is $818.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $393.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results 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. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 16.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Loop Capital upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $780.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $883.04.

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.