RWQ Financial Management Services Inc. Purchases Shares of 1,826 Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

RWQ Financial Management Services Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,826 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $983,000. Costco Wholesale makes up 0.9% of RWQ Financial Management Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,634,627 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,941,708,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315,174 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,385 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,069,186,000 after purchasing an additional 111,505 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 118,320.2% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,851,678 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,150,426,000 after purchasing an additional 256,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,328,844,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.31% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $2.10 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $579.25. The stock had a trading volume of 348,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,800,351. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $564.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $543.03. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $447.90 and a 52 week high of $599.89. The company has a market capitalization of $256.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 26th. The retailer reported $4.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.79 by $0.07. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 28.10%. The firm had revenue of $78.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 3rd were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.12, for a total transaction of $1,713,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,238,852.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Richard A. Galanti sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $565.57, for a total value of $1,131,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,138 shares in the company, valued at $15,914,008.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.12, for a total transaction of $1,713,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,422 shares in the company, valued at $4,238,852.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,265 shares of company stock worth $10,797,118 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on COST. StockNews.com started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $619.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $535.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $651.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $586.43.

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.