Financial & Tax Architects LLC Buys 255 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Financial & Tax Architects LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 19.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,586 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the quarter. Financial & Tax Architects LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Oak Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,737,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LifePro Asset Management increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. LifePro Asset Management now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.2 %

COST stock opened at $897.27 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $397.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.59, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $862.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $808.65. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $540.23 and a fifty-two week high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on COST shares. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $780.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $925.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Citigroup upped their price target 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, Barclays increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $844.52.

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.