Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by Strong Tower Advisory Services

Strong Tower Advisory Services boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,734 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Strong Tower Advisory Services’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oak Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,737,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the second quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Perkins Coie Trust Co increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the third quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,675 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,144,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the first quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 995 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Finally, Boltwood Capital Management boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the second quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 790 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on COST. Roth Mkm increased their target price 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. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $886.74.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded down $3.55 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $890.08. 420,123 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,950,860. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $881.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $825.57. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $540.23 and a 12 month high of $923.83. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $394.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.62, a P/E/G ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $848.53, for a total transaction of $1,272,795.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,327,041.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $848.53, for a total value of $1,272,795.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,327,041.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,674 shares of company stock valued at $5,831,324 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.