GFS Advisors LLC Acquires 365 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

GFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 121.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 665 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the quarter. GFS Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the first quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,004,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.3% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,719 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,408 shares during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $348,000. Mendel Money Management increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.5% during the first quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 997 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,989 shares during the period. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.6% in the first quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 7,799 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,714,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target for the company. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $905.30.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. This 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 available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was 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 $7,671,983.70. This 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 available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST opened at $877.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $892.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $844.92. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $552.01 and a one year high of $923.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $388.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.00%.

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.