319 Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Purchased by Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC

Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 319 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $283,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Vima LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth about $48,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. 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 price target of $883.04.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.3 %

COST opened at $875.67 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $874.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $820.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $388.21 billion, a PE ratio of 54.25, a P/E/G ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $540.23 and a one year high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.30% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.86 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given 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 was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at $20,560,344. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,097,624. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.