BBR Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

BBR Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 15.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,101 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 387 shares during the quarter. BBR Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,916,118,000 after acquiring an additional 473,702 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $3,628,694,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.1% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,802,147,000 after purchasing an additional 285,533 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,790,935 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,842,241,000 after buying an additional 81,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,278,824 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $844,126,000 after buying an additional 316,426 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $885.98 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $856.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $798.62. The firm has a market cap of $392.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.89, a P/E/G ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $540.18 and a 1-year high of $918.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Loop Capital increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $970.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $925.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $824.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $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.