Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 320,108 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 7,162 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.07% of Costco Wholesale worth $283,782,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second 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 purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report 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 MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $908.81.

Insider Activity

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

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.3 %

COST opened at $960.89 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $425.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $582.83 and a one year high of $976.30. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $902.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $867.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current 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 given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s 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.