First Business Financial Services Inc. Purchases 466 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

First Business Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 12.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,076 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 0.4% of First Business Financial Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. First Business Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,916,118,000 after purchasing an additional 473,702 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the third 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 raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 285,533 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.5% during the 2nd 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 period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 28.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,078 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,307,363,000 after purchasing an additional 338,780 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. 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 report on Friday, September 27th. Barclays upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $905.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $923.89 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $896.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $855.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $409.35 billion, a PE ratio of 55.76, a P/E/G ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $572.24 and a twelve month high of $962.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.00%.

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.