Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC Makes New Investment in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 1,196 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,016,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased 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 buying an additional 1,473,248 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth about $510,353,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 287.3% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $710,802,000 after acquiring an additional 620,341 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,266,000 after acquiring an additional 618,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3,647.1% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 567,641 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $374,688,000 after purchasing an additional 552,492 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on COST. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective for the company. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $970.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $857.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $901.54 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $540.23 and a one year high of $923.83. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $867.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $813.69. 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 cap of $399.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.86, a P/E/G ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at $20,560,344. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.