Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by Xcel Wealth Management LLC

Xcel Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,499 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Xcel Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $893.49 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $890.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $836.49. The stock has a market cap of $395.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.92, a PEG ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $540.23 and a 1-year high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,224 shares of company stock valued at $9,974,973. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on COST. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $894.57.

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.