Commonwealth Financial Services LLC Acquires 89 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Commonwealth Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,927 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COST. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,916,118,000 after acquiring an additional 473,702 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,802,147,000 after purchasing an additional 285,533 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,790,935 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,842,241,000 after purchasing an additional 81,853 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,078 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,307,363,000 after purchasing an additional 338,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,253,508,000 after buying an additional 1,473,248 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Redburn Atlantic cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $853.92.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.7 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $906.98 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $540.23 and a one year high of $923.83. The business’s fifty day moving average is $864.85 and its 200 day moving average is $811.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $402.10 billion, a PE ratio of 56.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.