Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 88,206 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,219 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $78,197,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price 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, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $905.30.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.1 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $933.73 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $895.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $855.44. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $572.24 and a 52 week high of $962.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $413.71 billion, a PE ratio of 56.35, a PEG ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 0.80. 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 issued its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.00%.

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.