Van ECK Associates Corp Has $96.77 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 113,845 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,446 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $96,767,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 17.0% in the second quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 4,830 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,105,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 30.1% in the second quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 2,643 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,247,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the period. Ingalls & Snyder LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 1,529 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 12,815 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,892,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.6 %

COST stock traded up $5.75 during mid-day 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. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $539.31 and a 12 month high of $918.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $854.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $794.02. The company has a market cap of $395.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.43 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $676.00 price target (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $925.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $824.50.

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.