Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc.

Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 26.3% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,295 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 463 shares during the quarter. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 38.4% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 101 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Clarus Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 20.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clarus Wealth Advisors now owns 1,276 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $211,000. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Westmount Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 3,471 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,436,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,147 shares of company stock worth $5,031,130. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $960.10 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.16 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market cap of $425.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.97. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $959.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $973.69.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on COST. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Erste Group Bank lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.