Waverton Investment Management Ltd Lowers Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Waverton Investment Management Ltd cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 85.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,261 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 98,754 shares during the quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oak Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the second quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,737,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,518,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 995 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $729,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 790 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $671,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LifePro Asset Management lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the second quarter. LifePro Asset Management now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $885.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $392.78 billion, a PE ratio of 54.89, a PEG ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $540.18 and a 12-month high of $918.93. The business has a 50 day moving average of $856.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $798.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $925.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Truist Financial upped their price objective 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. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $824.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at $20,560,344. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.