Great Lakes Advisors LLC Has $26.98 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Great Lakes Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 22.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,527 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 8,217 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $26,981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,258 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,136,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC now owns 592 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,617,000. Fred Alger Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $9,581,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 14,168 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $13,400,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.8%

COST stock opened at $963.48 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $427.28 billion, a PE ratio of 54.65, a PEG ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $867.16 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $962.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $976.69.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Erste Group Bank cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,050.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,147 shares of company stock valued at $5,031,130. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.