The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Increases Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 312,946 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,750 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $266,001,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MBB Public Markets I LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2,504.5% during the 2nd quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 31,566 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,831,000 after purchasing an additional 30,354 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 31.6% in the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 25,429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $21,614,000 after buying an additional 6,102 shares during the last quarter. DE Burlo Group Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 37.4% in the 2nd quarter. DE Burlo Group Inc. now owns 32,935 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $27,994,000 after buying an additional 8,970 shares during the period. Decatur Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Decatur Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,691 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,137,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Delta Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 468 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $970.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $910.00 to $915.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $857.48.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of COST stock opened at $901.44 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $540.23 and a fifty-two week high of $923.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $869.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $814.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $399.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.85, a PEG ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors 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 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.