Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Holdings Lifted by Waterloo Capital L.P.

Waterloo Capital L.P. grew its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 33.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,473 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,253,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473,248 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $510,353,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 287.3% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $710,802,000 after acquiring an additional 620,341 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,266,000 after acquiring an additional 618,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3,647.1% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 567,641 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $374,688,000 after acquiring an additional 552,492 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on COST shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $844.52.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at $20,560,344. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $892.52 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $862.49 and a 200-day moving average of $809.24. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $540.23 and a 52 week high of $923.83. The company has a market capitalization of $395.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.30, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.75%.

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.