Townsquare Capital LLC Increases Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 29,895 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $26,503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $908.81.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,671,983.70. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $971.50 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $582.83 and a 12-month high of $976.30. The firm has a market cap of $430.44 billion, a PE ratio of 58.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.93 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $903.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $868.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.86 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. 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.