Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 17.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,781 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,253 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $36,364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,164,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 1,010 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $740,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,346,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 27,902 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,418,000 after acquiring an additional 1,627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,871,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Argus lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $780.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $828.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing 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 firm’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded down $9.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $876.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,074,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,959,834. The company has a market capitalization of $388.66 billion, a PE ratio of 54.32, a PEG ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $540.23 and a 52-week high of $918.93. The business’s 50-day moving average is $857.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $799.68. 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 Dividend Announcement

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