Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. Acquires 50 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.3% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 16,013 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 0.7% of Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,611,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth $32,000. Vima LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction 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 $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,970 shares of company stock worth $4,249,526. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 2nd. TD Cowen raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $824.50.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.2 %

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $1.65 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $879.21. 1,305,753 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,967,249. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $851.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $788.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $389.78 billion, a PE ratio of 54.47, a PEG ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.78. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $530.56 and a one year high of $896.67.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.43 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 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.