Everence Capital Management Inc. Raises Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 10.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,323 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.6% of Everence Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 513 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 627 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 676 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Von Berge Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 48.9% during the 1st quarter. Von Berge Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 865 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $634,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hoxton Planning & Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,125,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at $20,560,344. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 11,224 shares of company stock valued at $9,974,973. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $886.77 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $540.23 and a 1-year high of $923.83. The stock has a market cap of $393.14 billion, a PE ratio of 54.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $889.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $835.23.

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 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $890.07.

Costco Wholesale 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.