RIA Advisory Group LLC Buys New Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,732 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,535,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $16.82 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $907.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,269,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,930,030. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $897.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $857.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $572.24 and a 1 year high of $962.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $401.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm 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 firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Truist Financial cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten research 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $905.30.

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.