Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Circle Wealth Management LLC

Circle Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 18.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,442 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 565 shares during the quarter. Circle Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,916,118,000 after acquiring an additional 473,702 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 8.1% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,802,147,000 after purchasing an additional 285,533 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,790,935 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,842,241,000 after purchasing an additional 81,853 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,078 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,307,363,000 after purchasing an additional 338,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,253,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,248 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.7 %

COST stock opened at $906.98 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $402.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $864.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $811.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $540.23 and a 12 month high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,015,745. 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 quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $780.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.