CHB Investment Group LLC Makes New $2.69 Million Investment in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

CHB Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,039 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,694,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,253,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,248 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $510,353,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 287.3% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $710,802,000 after buying an additional 620,341 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,266,000 after buying an additional 618,383 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,916,118,000 after buying an additional 473,702 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.0 %

COST stock opened at $885.68 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $888.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $831.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $392.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.85, a P/E/G ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $540.23 and a fifty-two week high of $923.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.86 EPS. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, 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 transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,224 shares of company stock valued at $9,974,973. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on COST shares. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $890.07.

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.