Quest Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Quest Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,825 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,545 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.8% of Quest Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Quest Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $16,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Oak Asset Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,737,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the second quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,518,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 995 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 790 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $671,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Finally, LifePro Asset Management grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. LifePro Asset Management now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $676.00 price target (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $780.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $970.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $844.52.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $906.98 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $864.85 and its 200 day moving average is $811.25. The company has a market capitalization of $402.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.19, a PEG ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $540.23 and a twelve month high of $923.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

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.