Park Avenue Securities LLC Grows Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,816 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 145 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $18,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Oak Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,737,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% during the first quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 995 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the second quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 790 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LifePro Asset Management raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the second quarter. LifePro Asset Management now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $875.67 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $874.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $820.24. The company has a market capitalization of $388.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.25, a P/E/G ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $540.23 and a fifty-two week high of $923.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.30% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $980.00 price target (up from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 27th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $883.04.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,174 shares of company stock worth $7,097,624. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.