Blue Chip Partners LLC Boosts Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Blue Chip Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,740 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 2.6% of Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $27,828,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 8.0% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 167,483 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $142,359,000 after buying an additional 12,425 shares during the last quarter. Great Point Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at about $207,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the second quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,207 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,426,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at about $117,000. Finally, Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Ve Gananot Havera Menahelet LTD raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 205.2% in the second quarter. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Ve Gananot Havera Menahelet LTD now owns 13,021 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,065,000 after buying an additional 8,755 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now 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 other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now 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. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $1.42 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $886.63. The stock had a trading volume of 1,709,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,963,327. The company has a market capitalization of $393.07 billion, a PE ratio of 54.93, a P/E/G ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $852.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $792.18. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $539.31 and a 1 year high of $918.93. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 price objective (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Argus raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $824.50.

Costco Wholesale 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.