Carson Advisory Inc. Has $291,000 Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Carson Advisory Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 342 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the quarter. Carson Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,916,118,000 after acquiring an additional 473,702 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,628,694,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,802,147,000 after buying an additional 285,533 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.0% during the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 32.9% during the 4th 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. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’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 transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $894.29 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $859.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $802.98. The company has a market cap of $396.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.41, a P/E/G ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 0.80. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $540.23 and a twelve month high of $918.93.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several research reports. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $844.52.

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.