Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC cut its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,610 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 35 shares during the period. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,369,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of COST. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,839 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,264,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 21,717 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,459,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 4,831 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,106,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,539,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 105.2% in the second quarter. Fortis Capital Management LLC now owns 5,759 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,895,000 after purchasing an additional 2,952 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $920.00 to $915.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $824.50.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. 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 insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.4 %

COST stock traded down $3.57 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $877.85. The stock had a trading volume of 740,217 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,967,017. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $850.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $786.19. 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 has a market cap of $389.18 billion, a PE ratio of 54.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 0.78. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $530.56 and a 12-month high of $896.67.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.43 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 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.