Fisher Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,034,491 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 78,590 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.1% of Fisher Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 0.68% of Costco Wholesale worth $2,690,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fermata Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,745,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,737,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the second quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Perkins Coie Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the third quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,675 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,144,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.7% in the third quarter. Horizon Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST opened at $964.01 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $427.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.18, a PEG ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.80. 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 12-month low of $582.83 and a 12-month high of $976.30. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $901.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $866.19.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.86 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.