Sky Investment Group LLC Sells 40 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Sky Investment Group LLC decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,477 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 40 shares during the period. Sky Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Corps Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the first quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,463,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 8.6% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the first quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 441 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $404,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 20.4% in the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the first quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 866 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $819,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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 ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,056.67.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $952.36 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $422.35 billion, a PE ratio of 54.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.42 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. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $867.16 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $958.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $972.82.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders 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 29.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.