Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) is NCP Inc.’s 10th Largest Position

NCP Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 25.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,423 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 701 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 1.7% of NCP Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. NCP Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $1,253,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473,248 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake 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 worth $5,266,000 after purchasing an additional 618,383 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at about $285,618,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $971.50 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $903.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $868.77. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $582.83 and a twelve month high of $976.30. The company has a market capitalization of $430.44 billion, a PE ratio of 58.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.00%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the 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 owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. 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 report on Thursday, October 10th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $908.81.

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.