Brooklyn Investment Group Increases Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,133 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.9% of Brooklyn Investment Group’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Brooklyn Investment Group’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,489,574,000 after purchasing an additional 32,074 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 62.8% during the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after acquiring an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at $20,056,000. Hudson Value Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,133,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 66.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 3,088 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $960.89 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $582.83 and a 1 year high of $976.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $902.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $867.47. The company has a market capitalization of $425.75 billion, a PE ratio of 57.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on COST. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $908.81.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. This 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 through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Costco Wholesale

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.