IMS Capital Management Purchases 22 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

IMS Capital Management raised its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,816 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.5% of IMS Capital Management’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. IMS Capital Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted 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. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $988.46.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $982.08 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $931.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $888.21. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $640.51 and a 1-year high of $1,008.25. The firm has a market cap of $435.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 33.19% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.86 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

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.