Legacy Bridge LLC Raises Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Legacy Bridge LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,659 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.3% of Legacy Bridge LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Legacy Bridge LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 37.5% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 26,326 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $23,354,000 after purchasing an additional 7,175 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 181.2% during the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,145 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,107,000 after buying an additional 5,893 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 11.4% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 13,450 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,924,000 after buying an additional 1,375 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $263,000. Finally, Nixon Peabody Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 977 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $866,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $919.51 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $577.34 and a 12-month high of $962.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $898.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $860.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $407.41 billion, a PE ratio of 55.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on COST. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI increased their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $908.81.

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.