Bellevue Asset Management LLC Sells 124 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Bellevue Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,910 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 124 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 3.2% of Bellevue Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Bellevue Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Allocation Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $214,000. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 4,384 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,727,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,573,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 113,845 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $96,767,000 after purchasing an additional 11,446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weatherly Asset Management L. P. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the second quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 29,256 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,867,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on COST. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $920.00 to $915.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $824.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at $20,560,344. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $5.75 during trading on Friday, reaching $892.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,933,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,963,146. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $854.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $794.02. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $539.31 and a fifty-two week high of $918.93. The firm has a market cap of $395.62 billion, a PE ratio of 55.29, a P/E/G ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

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. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.43 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

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.