Kanawha Capital Management LLC Boosts Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

by · The Markets Daily

Kanawha Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST – Free Report) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,044 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $14,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $6,534,464,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,253,508,000 after buying an additional 1,473,248 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 287.3% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $710,802,000 after buying an additional 620,341 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,266,000 after acquiring an additional 618,383 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,916,118,000 after acquiring an additional 473,702 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 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 brokerages have weighed in on COST. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price on the stock. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $905.30.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $877.31 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $552.01 and a 52 week high of $923.83. The company has a market capitalization of $388.71 billion, a PE ratio of 52.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $892.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $845.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

About Costco Wholesale

(Free Report)

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.

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