Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Buys 6,970 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 15.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,009 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,970 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $46,107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,224 shares of company stock valued at $9,974,973. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $893.49 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $540.23 and a 52-week high of $923.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $395.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $890.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $836.49. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.86 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.