Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by Caprock Group LLC

Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 68.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,075 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,918 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lynch & Associates IN raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.5% during the second quarter. Lynch & Associates IN now owns 360 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Certuity LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Counterweight Ventures LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Counterweight Ventures LLC now owns 3,790 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,221,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 23.4% during the 2nd quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC now owns 1,687 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,434,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 187,144 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $159,048,000 after buying an additional 7,533 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on COST. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $910.00 to $915.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 target price (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $955.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $828.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were 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 directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 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 company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.0 %

COST stock opened at $876.68 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $857.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $800.19. The stock has a market cap of $388.66 billion, a PE ratio of 54.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $540.23 and a fifty-two week high of $918.93.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

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.