Clarity Financial LLC Acquires 7,812 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Clarity Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 35,877 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,812 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 3.7% of Clarity Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Clarity Financial LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $31,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 22.3% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,719 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after buying an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.1% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 21,547 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $15,729,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 5.6% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,349 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,721,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MRA Advisory Group acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at about $372,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $886.07 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $892.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $847.07. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $560.13 and a 1-year high of $923.83. The company has a market cap of $392.59 billion, a PE ratio of 53.47, a P/E/G ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.86 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,015,745. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target on the stock. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price target on the stock. 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. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $905.30.

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.