Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $2.49 Billion Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,808,255 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 32,074 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.63% of Costco Wholesale worth $2,489,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 3.3 %

NASDAQ:COST traded up $30.17 on Thursday, reaching $958.25. 1,666,239 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,927,959. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $582.83 and a 1-year high of $962.00. The company's 50 day moving average is $900.22 and its 200-day moving average is $863.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $424.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on COST shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale 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.