Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Grows Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 122,992 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,684 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $109,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 62.8% during the third quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 52.1% in the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,499,000 after buying an additional 2,620 shares in the last quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,424,000. WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 328.4% in the 3rd quarter. WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,272,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,533 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,003,000 after buying an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of several research reports. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $980.00 target price (up previously from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $894.57.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,015,745. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $891.22 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $891.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $840.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $540.23 and a twelve month high of $923.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $395.11 billion, a PE ratio of 55.22, a PEG ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.