Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Stake Boosted by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 190,692 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 5,033 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 1.1% of D.A. Davidson & CO.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $176,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 793 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $734,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Greystone Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 887 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $821,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 35,840 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,174,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Greenspring Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth $718,000. Finally, City Holding Co. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.8% during the third quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 8,652 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,008,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on COST. Gordon Haskett lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 1st. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,000.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Mizuho set a $1,000.00 target price on Costco Wholesale and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,033.00 to $926.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $994.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value of $1,157,994.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total value of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. This represents a 28.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,946 shares of company stock worth $8,175,048. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $854.50 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $844.06 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. The company has a market cap of $379.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.77, a P/E/G ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50 day moving average is $894.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $934.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.07. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 29.35%. The company had revenue of $67.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.04 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.85%.

Costco Wholesale Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a global chain of membership-only warehouse clubs that sell a wide array of merchandise in bulk at discounted prices. The company’s product mix includes groceries, fresh and frozen food, household goods, electronics, apparel, and seasonal items, augmented by its prominent private-label brand, Kirkland Signature. Costco’s business model centers on annual membership fees and high-volume, low-margin sales, designed to drive repeat purchasing and strong customer loyalty among both consumers and small-business buyers.

Beyond merchandise, Costco provides a range of ancillary services that complement its warehouses, including gasoline stations, pharmacy and optical services, hearing aid centers, photo services, and travel and insurance products.