Encompass More Asset Management Takes Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Encompass More Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 477 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $423,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the second 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 last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $980.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Ten equities research 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $908.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $971.88 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $582.83 and a 52 week high of $976.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $430.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.65, a P/E/G ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $907.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $871.42.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its 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 return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.