Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Acquires 359 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,961 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 359 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.0% of Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,143,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.2% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 719 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the first quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,762 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,291,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.2% in the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 356 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 19.1% in the first quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 755 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 36.4% in the first quarter. Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,418,000 after buying an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,224 shares of company stock valued at $9,974,973. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $893.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $890.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $836.49. 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 stock has a market cap of $395.88 billion, a PE ratio of 53.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $540.23 and a 1 year high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted 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 company 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%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price on the stock. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $894.57.

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.