Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Lowered to “Hold” at Truist Financial

Truist Financial cut shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $873.00 price objective on the retailer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a buy rating to a neutral rating and increased their target price for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Roth Mkm restated a neutral rating and set a $676.00 target price (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $857.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $901.54 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $867.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $813.69. Costco Wholesale has a fifty-two week low of $540.23 and a fifty-two week high of $923.83. The company has a market cap of $399.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.86, a P/E/G ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth $510,353,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 287.3% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $710,802,000 after buying an additional 620,341 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,266,000 after buying an additional 618,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3,647.1% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 567,641 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $374,688,000 after acquiring an additional 552,492 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Costco Wholesale

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.