First Hawaiian Bank Buys 152 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

First Hawaiian Bank lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,926 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,605,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $40,332,515,000 after acquiring an additional 443,101 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after buying an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,332,009 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,097,127,000 after buying an additional 18,045 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,695,796,000 after buying an additional 191,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,461,159,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $964.32 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $867.16 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $427.66 billion, a PE ratio of 54.70, a PEG ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50 day moving average is $960.77 and its 200-day moving average is $975.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Erste Group Bank lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,056.67.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,147 shares of company stock valued at $5,031,130. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.