Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC Has $1.54 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,736 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 62.8% in the third quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after buying an additional 932 shares during the period. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 66.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 3,088 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,738,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 52.1% in the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,620 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at $6,424,000. Finally, WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 328.4% during the third quarter. WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of COST stock opened at $886.99 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $543.64 and a twelve month high of $923.83. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $892.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $842.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.53, a P/E/G ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released 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 the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Redburn Atlantic cut 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 report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $894.57.

Costco Wholesale 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.