Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Holdings Cut by Harold Davidson & Associates Inc.

Harold Davidson & Associates Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,581 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 68 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 2.9% of Harold Davidson & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Harold Davidson & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 117,254 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $107,436,000 after acquiring an additional 36,384 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 4,813 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,410,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadcap Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,727 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,582,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on COST. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,056.67.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,147 shares of company stock worth $5,031,130 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ COST opened at $964.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $427.66 billion, a PE ratio of 54.70, a P/E/G ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average of $960.77 and a 200 day moving average of $975.64. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.16 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.