Great Lakes Advisors LLC Raises Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,781 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,253 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $36,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oak Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the second quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,737,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.3% during the first quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 995 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the second quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 790 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $671,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LifePro Asset Management increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the second quarter. LifePro Asset Management now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on COST. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Barclays raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $955.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $828.73.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST traded down $9.30 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $876.68. The stock had a trading volume of 2,074,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,959,834. The firm has a market cap of $388.66 billion, a PE ratio of 54.32, a P/E/G ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $857.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $799.68. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $540.23 and a one year high of $918.93. 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by 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.