Mainstream Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 2,161 Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,161 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,916,000. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.6% of Mainstream Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $905.30.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $913.93 on Friday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $891.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $848.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $404.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.16, a PEG ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $562.01 and a 12 month high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 0.00 % 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 Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.