Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Sells 2,966 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 18.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,764 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,966 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strong Tower Advisory Services grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.9% during the first quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,346,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 52.1% during the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,620 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 22.8% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,533 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,003,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 30.8% in the second quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,596 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aspiriant LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.1% during the first quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,705,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Bank of America upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $910.00 to $915.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $844.52.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $906.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $402.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.19, a P/E/G ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s fifty day moving average is $864.85 and its 200 day moving average is $811.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $540.23 and a 12-month high of $923.83.

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. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

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.