Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Reduces Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ reduced its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,569 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 966 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $28,519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 57.3% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 626 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $703,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 62.6% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,309 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,184,000 after buying an additional 1,274 shares during the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 2,475 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,633,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FineMark National Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 5,950 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,927,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $844.52.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.7 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $906.98 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $540.23 and a 52 week high of $923.83. The stock has a market cap of $402.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.19, a PEG ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $864.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $810.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’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 approximately $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.