Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. Buys 3,263 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 338,207 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,263 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 0.8% of Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $299,669,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,489,574,000 after purchasing an additional 32,074 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 62.8% in the third quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after acquiring an additional 932 shares during the period. Nwam LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth about $20,056,000. Hudson Value Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,133,000 after buying an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 66.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 3,088 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,738,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on COST. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $980.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $961.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $426.03 billion, a PE ratio of 58.03, a PEG ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $906.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $870.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $582.83 and a 52-week high of $976.30.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.00%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.