Hilltop Holdings Inc. Purchases 2,324 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 54.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,598 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,324 shares during the quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd 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. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on COST shares. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Costco Wholesale from an "accumulate" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $925.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $908.81.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.7 %

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $7.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $982.15. 1,539,353 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,922,743. The company has a fifty day moving average of $907.62 and a 200-day moving average of $872.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $591.46 and a twelve month high of $981.77. The company has a market cap of $435.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.65, a P/E/G ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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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