Gemmer Asset Management LLC Purchases 50 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Gemmer Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 933 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Gemmer Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Vima LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on COST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $676.00 price target (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 31st. Loop Capital increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $970.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $824.50.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST traded up $1.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $864.82. The company had a trading volume of 1,464,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,995,136. The business has a 50 day moving average of $845.93 and a 200-day moving average of $778.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $530.56 and a 1-year high of $896.67. The company has a market cap of $383.40 billion, a PE ratio of 53.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.97 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, 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 sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related 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 transaction of $298,035.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The transaction 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $848.53, for a total value of $1,272,795.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,327,041.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,350 shares of company stock valued at $2,837,131 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.