Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft Sells 670 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 33.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,330 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 670 shares during the quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 21,514 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $14,201,000 after purchasing an additional 2,909 shares during the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Strong Tower Advisory Services grew its position 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 buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 27,902 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,418,000 after buying an additional 1,627 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,327,041.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,350 shares of company stock worth $2,837,131 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $14.64 during trading on Thursday, hitting $877.35. 1,921,167 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,990,293. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $530.56 and a 1 year high of $896.67. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $847.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $780.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $388.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.36, a PEG ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.78. 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 results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.43 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. 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 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $824.50.

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.