Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stake Lifted by Hudson Value Partners LLC

by · The Markets Daily

Hudson Value Partners LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST – Free Report) by 0.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,496 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 55 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 2.2% of Hudson Value Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Hudson Value Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 118,320.2% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,396,524 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,376,513,000 after purchasing an additional 7,390,278 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $2,328,844,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 218,503.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,563,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,918,373,000 after acquiring an additional 3,561,602 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 846.8% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,535,938 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $143,580,000 after purchasing an additional 2,268,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,634,627 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,941,708,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315,174 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.31% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.33, for a total value of $1,700,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,910 shares in the company, valued at $4,020,750.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $548.92, for a total value of $1,407,979.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,461,621.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $680.33, for a total value of $1,700,825.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,020,750.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,817 shares of company stock worth $10,653,623 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $755.00 in a research report on Friday. UBS Group lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $640.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $675.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $640.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $637.40.

Read Our Latest Analysis on COST

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $7.66 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $694.97. 2,267,866 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,685,873. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $465.33 and a one year high of $696.13. The company’s 50 day moving average is $635.66 and its 200 day moving average is $583.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $308.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.37, a P/E/G ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.76.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 14th. The retailer reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $57.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.79 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 27.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.10 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.6 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.81%.

Costco Wholesale Profile

(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.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding COST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST – Free Report).