1,464 Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Acquired by International Private Wealth Advisors LLC

International Private Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 32.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,916 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,464 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 2.0% of International Private Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 107.7% during the 3rd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 27 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Burk Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, John Boyer Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Costco Wholesale

Investors following COST have been watching these stories:

• Positive Sentiment: The board also reauthorized a $4 billion stock repurchase program, reinforcing Costco’s capital-return plans. Bernstein raised its price target to $1,155 from $1,143 and maintained an Outperform rating; Mizuho also raised its target following the announcements. Mizuho raises Costco price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts view Costco’s membership-based, value-focused business as relatively defensive amid uncertainty, which may appeal to investors seeking resilience. Costco as a defensive investment
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation is a counterweight: Freedom Broker downgraded Costco from Buy to Hold, citing the stock’s valuation. Other commentary also warns that the premium price leaves limited room for disappointment, so the special dividend alone may not justify buying at current levels. Freedom Broker downgrade

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,200.00 to $1,095.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,143.00 to $1,155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,091.00 to $1,079.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $781.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,015.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,092.23.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.93, for a total transaction of $2,015,046.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,534,244.62. This represents a 23.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $958.21, for a total transaction of $1,054,031.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,094 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,964,701.74. This represents a 26.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of COST opened at $1,087.61 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $844.06 and a 52 week high of $1,096.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market capitalization of $481.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.39, a PEG ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $960.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $973.88.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The retailer reported $6.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.21. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 27.60% and a net margin of 3.04%. The company had revenue of $95.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.87 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 22.70 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be paid a dividend of $30.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 24th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.32%.

About Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates membership-based warehouse clubs that offer a broad selection of merchandise at generally low prices. Its products include groceries, fresh foods, appliances, electronics, apparel, furniture, and household goods, as well as its Kirkland Signature private-label line. The company also provides services such as gasoline stations, pharmacies, optical and hearing-aid centers, food courts, and travel offerings. Costco serves members through warehouses and online channels.