WBI Investments LLC Acquires New Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

WBI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 306 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $289,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $40,332,515,000 after buying an additional 443,101 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during 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 period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during 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 period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,695,796,000 after purchasing an additional 191,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,461,159,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock 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 company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $427.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.70, a P/E/G ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $960.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $975.64.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $1.30 dividend. 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 29.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,056.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,147 shares of company stock worth $5,031,130 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.