Apollon Financial LLC Raises Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Apollon Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 15.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,761 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 652 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.2% of Apollon Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Apollon Financial LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 17,862 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $15,835,000 after purchasing an additional 3,882 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 9,617 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,526,000 after buying an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,309 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $25,096,000 after acquiring an additional 853 shares during the period. Investment Management Associates Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $222,000. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,376 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,993,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,136 shares of company stock worth $10,806,570 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $905.30.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $932.88 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $894.30 and its 200 day moving average is $854.01. 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 52 week low of $572.24 and a 52 week high of $962.00. The stock has a market cap of $413.33 billion, a PE ratio of 56.30, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results 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. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.00%.

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.