Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 20,259 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 262,985 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 20,259 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned 0.06% of Costco Wholesale worth $223,535,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $780.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $844.52.

Insider Activity

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

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $906.98 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $540.23 and a twelve month high of $923.83. 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 $402.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.19, a PEG ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $864.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $810.90.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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