Cerity Partners LLC Raises Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 384,175 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 71,898 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.8% of Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $340,579,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in 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 position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of COST opened at $964.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $901.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $864.82. The stock has a market cap of $427.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.18, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $582.83 and a 12 month high of $976.30.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.00%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 30.13 % 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 Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on COST shares. 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 report on Thursday, October 10th. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $908.81.

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.