Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $285,000 in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 321 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $285,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cross Staff Investments Inc grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.6% during the third quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 1,935 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,715,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth approximately $1,317,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the third quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 6,831 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,056,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.5% during the third quarter. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 2,183 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,935,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.9% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,638 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,452,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now 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 three months, insiders have sold 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $891.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $394.87 billion, a PE ratio of 53.79, a PEG ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $891.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $837.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $540.23 and a 1 year high of $923.83.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on COST shares. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Gordon Haskett raised Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $894.57.

About Costco Wholesale

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.