Fortem Financial Group LLC Has $1.90 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Fortem Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,142 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 6,675 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,917,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,115,000. Financial Avengers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.7% in the third quarter. Financial Avengers Inc. now owns 301 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Wilson & Boucher Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.8% in the third quarter. Wilson & Boucher Capital Management LLC now owns 1,395 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.3% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,642 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $20,129,000 after acquiring an additional 1,345 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $993.40 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $618.76 and a one year high of $997.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $917.82 and its 200 day moving average is $880.63. The firm has a market cap of $440.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.95, a PEG ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 target price (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price for the company. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $931.89.

Costco Wholesale 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.