Schear Investment Advisers LLC Acquires 534 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Schear Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,612 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 2.5% of Schear Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Schear Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $208,000. River Street Advisors LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 4.8% during the third quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 2,186 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,938,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the third quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,949 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,933,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Heritage Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Heritage Investment Group Inc. now owns 558 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 982 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $907.07 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $572.24 and a 1 year high of $962.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $401.90 billion, a PE ratio of 54.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $897.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $858.66.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its 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 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 quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.86 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on COST. Roth Mkm boosted 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. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $905.30.

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.