360 Financial Inc. Increases Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

360 Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,542 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 0.8% of 360 Financial Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. 360 Financial Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,165,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Smart Money Group LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 24.8% in the 1st quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,034,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,901 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,743,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 924 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $874,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $940.74 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $939.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $969.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $871.71 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. The company has a market capitalization of $416.92 billion, a PE ratio of 51.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. This trade represents a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total transaction of $1,157,994.18. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,373,175 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price objective on the stock. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,064.85.

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.