Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stake Decreased by Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft trimmed its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 33.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,330 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 670 shares during the quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,628,694,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at approximately $510,353,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3,647.1% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 567,641 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $374,688,000 after purchasing an additional 552,492 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,360,168 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,640,940,000 after purchasing an additional 485,051 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at $285,618,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were 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 directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $848.53, for a total transaction of $1,272,795.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,327,041.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,350 shares of company stock worth $2,837,131. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $925.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, August 5th. Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 price target (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $824.50.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.7 %

COST traded up $14.64 during trading on Thursday, reaching $877.35. 1,921,167 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,990,293. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $847.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $780.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $530.56 and a fifty-two week high of $896.67. The stock has a market cap of $388.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 is currently 28.75%.

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.