Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Waverton Investment Management Ltd

Waverton Investment Management Ltd trimmed its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 85.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,261 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 98,754 shares during the quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,822,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $3,628,694,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $510,353,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 620,341 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3,647.1% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 567,641 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $374,688,000 after purchasing an additional 552,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,360,168 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,640,940,000 after purchasing an additional 485,051 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was 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 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, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $848.53, for a total transaction of $1,272,795.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,327,041.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on COST. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $824.50.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $885.98 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $392.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.89, a PEG ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $540.18 and a fifty-two week high of $918.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $856.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $798.62.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend 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.