Arlington Capital Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Arlington Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,326 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 25 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.0% of Arlington Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Arlington Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,534,464,000 after buying an additional 7,364,453 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,253,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,248 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 287.3% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $710,802,000 after purchasing an additional 620,341 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,266,000 after buying an additional 618,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,916,118,000 after buying an additional 473,702 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST traded up $3.24 on Monday, reaching $880.55. 318,966 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,915,339. The stock has a market cap of $390.15 billion, a PE ratio of 53.14, a P/E/G ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $892.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $845.83. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $560.13 and a twelve month high of $923.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 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 business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,560,344. 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 this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This trade 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 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $905.30.

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.