Mizuho Securities USA LLC Increases Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 47,938 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 13,743 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $42,498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,534,464,000 after buying an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.1% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,802,147,000 after acquiring an additional 285,533 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,650,562 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,102,941,000 after purchasing an additional 88,550 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,078 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,307,363,000 after buying an additional 338,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,253,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,248 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $905.30.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of COST opened at $907.07 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $572.24 and a 52-week high of $962.00. The company has a market cap of $401.90 billion, a PE ratio of 54.74, a P/E/G ratio of 5.76 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. The business has a fifty day moving average of $897.62 and a 200 day moving average of $857.72.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.