Prudent Investors Network Inc. Purchases Shares of 872 Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Prudent Investors Network Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 872 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $773,000. Costco Wholesale comprises about 0.2% of Prudent Investors Network Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,916,118,000 after purchasing an additional 473,702 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,534,464,000 after acquiring an additional 7,364,453 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 8.1% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,802,147,000 after acquiring an additional 285,533 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,650,562 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,102,941,000 after acquiring an additional 88,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 28.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,078 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,307,363,000 after acquiring an additional 338,780 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $899.25 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $398.43 billion, a PE ratio of 54.27, a PEG ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $562.01 and a 1 year high of $923.83. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $891.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $848.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective 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. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, September 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $905.30.

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.