Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. Buys 1,402 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 84.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,072 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,402 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,723,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Arden Trust Co purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $201,000. Thomasville National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 724 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 19,650 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,702,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the period. RDA Financial Network grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 3,326 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,827,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,136 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,816,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.3 %

COST opened at $975.00 on Tuesday. 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 market capitalization of $431.99 billion, a PE ratio of 58.84, a PEG ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $591.46 and a 1-year high of $976.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $907.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $872.68.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.86 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities 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. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on COST. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $908.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.