Patton Fund Management Inc. Invests $6.42 Million in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Patton Fund Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,246 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $6,424,000. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.3% of Patton Fund Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew 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 buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the 2nd 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. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,560,344. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,224 shares of company stock valued at $9,974,973 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.0 %

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $887.28. 363,532 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,941,845. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $887.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $830.66. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $540.23 and a fifty-two week high of $923.83. The company has a market cap of $393.36 billion, a PE ratio of 54.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $886.74.

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.