Sather Financial Group Inc Purchases New Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sather Financial Group Inc acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 270 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew 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 valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $905.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $907.07 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $897.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $858.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $401.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.74, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.80. 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 52-week low of $572.24 and a 52-week high of $962.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was 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.