Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS Has $3.58 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,033 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 1.3% of Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 756 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $671,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. FFG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. FFG Partners LLC now owns 23,814 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,112,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $9,539,000. Garde Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.3% during the third quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 3,954 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,506,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Trust Co. N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.8% during the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 2,700 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,394,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the firm’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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.6 %

COST traded up $6.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $994.57. 1,322,442 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,921,905. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $924.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $883.45. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $630.30 and a 52-week high of $1,007.80. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $440.66 billion, a PE ratio of 60.63, a PEG ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued 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 business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Melius Research began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $981.86.

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.