Valley Wealth Managers Inc. Boosts Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,132 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,004,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth approximately $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $907.07 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $401.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.74, a PEG ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $572.24 and a 1 year high of $962.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $897.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $857.72. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $905.30.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.