Congress Asset Management Co. Acquires 1,271 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Congress Asset Management Co. raised its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 283,022 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,271 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.7% of Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Congress Asset Management Co. owned approximately 0.06% of Costco Wholesale worth $250,905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 62.8% in the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after buying an additional 932 shares during the period. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 66.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 3,088 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 52.1% during the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,620 shares in the last quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth $6,424,000. Finally, WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 328.4% during the 3rd quarter. WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $874.18 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $892.24 and a 200-day moving average of $842.92. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $549.06 and a 52 week high of $923.83. The stock has a market cap of $387.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $894.57.

Costco Wholesale 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.