Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC

Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 20.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,618 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,376,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $3,628,694,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $510,353,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 620,341 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3,647.1% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 567,641 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $374,688,000 after purchasing an additional 552,492 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,360,168 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,640,940,000 after purchasing an additional 485,051 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on COST shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 2nd. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $824.50.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of COST traded down $6.76 on Friday, hitting $870.59. 1,516,332 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,987,382. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $530.56 and a 1 year high of $896.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $848.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $781.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $385.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.94, a P/E/G ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.78. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

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 paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,970 shares of company stock worth $4,249,526 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.