Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. Sells 2,685 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 52.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,441 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,685 shares during the period. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 21,514 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $14,201,000 after acquiring an additional 2,909 shares in the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,346,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 27,902 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,418,000 after acquiring an additional 1,627 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of COST stock traded up $1.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $864.82. 1,464,618 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,995,136. The stock has a market cap of $383.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.58, a P/E/G ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $846.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $779.49. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $530.56 and a 52-week high of $896.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.43 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.97 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on COST shares. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $920.00 to $915.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $824.50.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $848.53, for a total value of $1,272,795.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,327,041.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,350 shares of company stock valued at $2,837,131. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company 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.