WBH Advisory Inc. Sells 38 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

WBH Advisory Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,305 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 38 shares during the quarter. WBH Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of COST. Keel Point LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Sage Capital Advisors llc grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 8,275 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,455,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.3% during the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 648 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at approximately $297,000. Finally, Windsor Group LTD boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.2% in the second quarter. Windsor Group LTD now owns 1,256 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,565 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.00, for a total value of $834,145.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,104,357. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $545.00 to $570.00 in a research report on Friday, June 2nd. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, VNET Group reissued a “reiterates” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, June 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock traded down $2.46 on Tuesday, reaching $560.26. 263,633 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,784,041. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $447.90 and a 1 year high of $571.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.08. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $551.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $519.89. The company has a market cap of $248.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.79.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 25th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 24th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 30.22%.

About Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Australia, Spain, France, Iceland, China, and Taiwan. It offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.