Harbor Advisory Corp MA Makes New Investment in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Harbor Advisory Corp MA acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 273 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $893.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $395.88 billion, a PE ratio of 53.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $890.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $836.49.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share 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 company 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 firm earned $4.86 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were 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 directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,015,745. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,224 shares of company stock worth $9,974,973. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $980.00 price objective (up previously from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 27th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $894.57.

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.