Anchor Investment Management LLC Boosts Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,280 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,831,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.4% in the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $979.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $434.28 billion, a PE ratio of 55.54, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.97. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $961.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $976.27. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $867.16 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,147 shares of company stock worth $5,031,130. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given 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.

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.