Benjamin Edwards Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 530.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 70,604 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 59,411 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 0.9% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $62,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.3 %

COST traded up $3.12 during trading on Monday, reaching $975.00. 1,930,822 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,926,762. The company's fifty day moving average price is $907.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $872.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $432.00 billion, a PE ratio of 58.84, a P/E/G ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $582.83 and a fifty-two week high of $976.30.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. 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 prior year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on COST shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $908.81.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Costco Wholesale

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.

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