Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Buys 163 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 14,512 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 163 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.0% of Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $12,865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in 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 period. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $943.80 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $893.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $850.73. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $562.01 and a 12-month high of $962.00. The firm has a market cap of $418.17 billion, a PE ratio of 56.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.53 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.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned 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 $905.30.

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.