GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Has $10.85 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,242 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 66 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 62.8% in the third quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after acquiring an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 52.1% in the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,620 shares during the last quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at $6,424,000. WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 328.4% in the third quarter. WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.8% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,533 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,003,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $891.22 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $395.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.22, a PEG ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $540.23 and a 12-month high of $923.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $891.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $840.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business’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 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at $20,015,745. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on COST shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price objective on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.