Optas LLC Buys 61 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Optas LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,362 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the quarter. Optas LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,008,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Vima LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at $48,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,970 shares of company stock worth $4,249,526. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Gordon Haskett raised Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and set a $676.00 price objective (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Truist Financial upped their price target 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, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $824.50.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST traded up $1.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $879.21. The stock had a trading volume of 1,305,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,967,249. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $530.56 and a twelve month high of $896.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $851.23 and its 200 day moving average is $788.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $389.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.47, a PEG ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. 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.