Ballentine Partners LLC Purchases 500 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,508 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the first quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 1,010 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $740,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.9% during the first 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. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $3,871,000. Finally, Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,930 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,057,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’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 transaction 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 approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.0 %

Costco Wholesale stock 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $857.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $800.19. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $540.23 and a 12 month 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. The company has a market capitalization of $388.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.32, a PEG ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Bank of America upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $970.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $828.73.

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.