Soltis Investment Advisors LLC Increases Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,748 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in 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 during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 62.8% in 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 buying an additional 932 shares during the period. Hudson Value Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,133,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth about $20,056,000. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 66.9% in the third quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 3,088 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,738,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on COST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $931.89.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $993.40 on Wednesday. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $618.76 and a fifty-two week high of $997.71. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $917.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $880.63. The firm has a market cap of $440.15 billion, a PE ratio of 59.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

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.