Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP Invests $31.18 Million in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 35,000 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $31,176,000. Costco Wholesale makes up 2.8% of Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $908.81.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was 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 owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.0 %

COST stock opened at $961.55 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $582.83 and a fifty-two week high of $976.30. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $905.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $869.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $426.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.03, a PEG ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.86 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

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.