Sage Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sage Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,205 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 0.8% of Sage Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Sage Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,534,464,000 after buying an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.1% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,802,147,000 after acquiring an additional 285,533 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,650,562 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,102,941,000 after purchasing an additional 88,550 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,078 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,307,363,000 after acquiring an additional 338,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,253,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,248 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $905.30.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.8 %

COST stock opened at $907.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $401.90 billion, a PE ratio of 54.74, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 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. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $897.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $858.66. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $572.24 and a 12 month high of $962.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

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.