Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Dana Investment Advisors Inc.

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,607 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 296 shares during the quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 3,802 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,510,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 550 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Sarl increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 36,772 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,272,000 after buying an additional 4,219 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 763,811 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $504,186,000 after acquiring an additional 89,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,539,245 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,336,198,000 after acquiring an additional 132,292 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $877.38 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $388.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.36, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s fifty day moving average is $871.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $819.44. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $540.23 and a 1 year high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 16.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were paid 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 dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Bank of America raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Melius Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $780.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $883.04.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 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. Insiders have sold a total of 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.