Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC Lowers Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,636 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 161 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.7% of Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $12,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Loop Capital reduced 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 raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective 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. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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 Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,147 shares of company stock worth $5,031,130. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $967.90 on Monday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $960.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $974.31. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.16 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The company has a market capitalization of $429.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

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.