Benjamin Edwards Inc. Grows Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 530.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 70,604 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 59,411 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 0.9% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $62,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,534,464,000 after buying an additional 7,364,453 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,253,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473,248 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 287.3% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $710,802,000 after purchasing an additional 620,341 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,266,000 after purchasing an additional 618,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 28.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,078 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,307,363,000 after purchasing an additional 338,780 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $971.88 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $430.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.65, a PEG ratio of 6.00 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. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $907.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $872.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97.

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. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price objective for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $908.81.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,671,983.70. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.