Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Somerset Group LLC

Somerset Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,960 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 734 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 3.0% of Somerset Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Somerset Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $925.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $910.00 to $915.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 price objective (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $970.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $844.52.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock opened at $892.52 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $395.68 billion, a PE ratio of 55.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $862.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $809.24. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $540.23 and a 1-year high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. 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. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.