Mayfair Advisory Group LLC Acquires 17 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Mayfair Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 419 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the quarter. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Convergence Financial LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. Convergence Financial LLC now owns 2,624 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,326,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth $939,000. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.8% in the third quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 3,755 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,329,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Tarbox Family Office Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.0% during the third quarter. Tarbox Family Office Inc. now owns 894 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $793,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BayBridge Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the third quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC now owns 1,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,536,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on COST. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $980.00 price target (up from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 27th. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $894.57.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $891.22 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $891.76 and a 200-day moving average of $839.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $394.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $540.23 and a 12 month high of $923.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its 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 analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,560,344. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.