William Blair Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 374,749 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,246 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Costco Wholesale worth $201,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aspire Private Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $20,406,948,000. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $22,359,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $615.00 to $630.00 in a report on Thursday, October 5th. Argus increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $510.00 to $525.00 in a report on Thursday, October 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $586.43.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $3.91 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $581.06. 619,717 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,801,513. The stock has a market capitalization of $257.26 billion, a PE ratio of 40.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50 day moving average is $564.00 and its 200 day moving average is $543.03. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $447.90 and a one year high of $599.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 26th. The retailer reported $4.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.79 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $78.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.72 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.10% and a net margin of 2.60%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.20 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 17th. Investors of record on Friday, November 3rd were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 2nd. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Caton Frates sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.64, for a total value of $675,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,363 shares in the company, valued at $4,705,358.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, CFO Richard A. Galanti sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $566.09, for a total value of $1,132,180.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 25,412 shares in the company, valued at $14,385,479.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Caton Frates sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.64, for a total value of $675,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,705,358.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,265 shares of company stock worth $10,797,118 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.