Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC Invests $1.92 Million in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 2,150 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,915,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Vima LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Redburn Atlantic cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $886.74.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $893.63 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $540.23 and a 12 month high of $923.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $881.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $825.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $396.17 billion, a PE ratio of 53.93, a P/E/G ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.86 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $848.53, for a total value of $1,272,795.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,327,041.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 6,674 shares of company stock worth $5,831,324. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.