Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Purchases New Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 17,423 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $14,809,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strong Tower Advisory Services lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.9% during the first quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted 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 valued at $6,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,620 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 22.8% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,533 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,003,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 30.8% during the second quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,596 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspiriant LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 6.1% during the first quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,705,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $885.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $392.63 billion, a PE ratio of 54.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $540.23 and a twelve month high of $923.83. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $870.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $816.15.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $881.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.