Truepoint Inc. Buys Shares of 524 Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Truepoint Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 524 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $465,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on COST. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Melius Research began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Ten investment 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.9 %

COST opened at $964.01 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $901.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $865.47. 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 company has a market cap of $427.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.18, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $582.83 and a one year high of $976.30.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

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.