Atwood & Palmer Inc. Has $1.68 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Atwood & Palmer Inc. cut its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,693 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 61 shares during the quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Martin Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $421,000. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.8% in the second quarter. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc now owns 1,327 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the second quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 4,869 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,820,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. 21 West Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $203,000. Finally, Goldstone Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 17.5% in the second quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 1,070 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,056,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,056.67.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $967.90 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $867.16 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $429.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average of $960.40 and a 200-day moving average of $974.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,147 shares of company stock worth $5,031,130 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.