Victory Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 439,353 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 8,022 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.10% of Costco Wholesale worth $373,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,628,694,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at about $510,353,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 287.3% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $710,802,000 after acquiring an additional 620,341 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $374,688,000 after acquiring an additional 552,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,360,168 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,640,940,000 after acquiring an additional 485,051 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $885.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $392.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.89, a P/E/G ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $856.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $798.62. 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 1-year low of $540.18 and a 1-year high of $918.93.

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 dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $826.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale 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 transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.