Narwhal Capital Management Lowers Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Narwhal Capital Management reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,912 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 185 shares during the period. Narwhal Capital Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased 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 in the first quarter valued at approximately $510,353,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 287.3% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $710,802,000 after buying an additional 620,341 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3,647.1% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 567,641 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $374,688,000 after buying an additional 552,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,360,168 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,640,940,000 after buying an additional 485,051 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $876.68 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $857.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $799.68. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $540.23 and a one year high of $918.93. 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 firm has a market cap of $388.66 billion, a PE ratio of 54.32, a P/E/G ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.80.

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 given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, 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 valued at $4,252,856 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $955.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $828.73.

About Costco Wholesale

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.