Wulff Hansen & CO. Purchases 250 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 16.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,735 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.3% of Wulff Hansen & CO.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Wulff Hansen & CO.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of COST. Oak Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the second quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,737,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,518,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 995 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the second quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 790 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $671,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LifePro Asset Management increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the second quarter. LifePro Asset Management now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’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 sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on COST shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $857.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $917.08 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $866.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $812.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $406.57 billion, a PE ratio of 56.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $540.23 and a fifty-two week high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 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.