Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST is Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC’s Largest Position

Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 58,196 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 269 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 19.1% of Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $57,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $960.10 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $425.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.46, a P/E/G ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50-day moving average is $959.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $973.69. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.16 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.50%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,147 shares of company stock valued at $5,031,130. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Erste Group Bank cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,056.67.

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.