AIA Group Ltd Has $7.53 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,488 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 932 shares during the period. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 66.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 3,088 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 52.1% during the second 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 during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth approximately $6,424,000. Finally, WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 328.4% during the third quarter. WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,272,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at $20,015,745. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $913.93 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $891.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $848.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $404.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.16, a P/E/G ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $562.01 and a fifty-two week 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.86 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $905.30.

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.