Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by Allied Investment Advisors LLC

Allied Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,189 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Allied Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Strong Tower Advisory Services raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 52.1% during the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,499,000 after buying an additional 2,620 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.8% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,533 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,003,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 30.8% in the 2nd quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,596 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,757,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aspiriant LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,705,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on COST shares. Gordon Haskett upgraded Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $980.00 target price (up from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 27th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $780.00 to $880.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $883.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,097,624. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ COST traded up $7.44 on Friday, hitting $883.11. 1,517,311 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,961,015. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $540.23 and a twelve month high of $923.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $391.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $875.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $821.29.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 31.30%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

About Costco Wholesale

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.