Waddell & Associates LLC Invests $209,000 in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Waddell & Associates LLC acquired a new stake 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 acquired 235 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,534,464,000 after buying an additional 7,364,453 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,253,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473,248 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 287.3% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $710,802,000 after purchasing an additional 620,341 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,266,000 after purchasing an additional 618,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at $285,618,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $964.01 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $582.83 and a 1-year high of $976.30. The company has a market capitalization of $427.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.18, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $901.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $864.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Melius Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $908.81.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale 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.