Clearstead Trust LLC Grows Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Clearstead Trust LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,475 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.6% of Clearstead Trust LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,253,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473,248 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at $510,353,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 287.3% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $710,802,000 after purchasing an additional 620,341 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,266,000 after buying an additional 618,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3,647.1% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 567,641 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $374,688,000 after buying an additional 552,492 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on COST. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $955.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $910.00 to $915.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $844.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $907.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $402.49 billion, a PE ratio of 56.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $540.23 and a 52-week high of $923.83. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $862.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $807.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.