Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Holdings Lowered by Chesley Taft & Associates LLC

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 72,903 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,312 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 3.1% of Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $61,967,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $3,628,694,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at about $510,353,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 287.3% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $710,802,000 after buying an additional 620,341 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3,647.1% during the fourth 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. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,360,168 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,640,940,000 after acquiring an additional 485,051 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $925.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $925.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, August 5th. 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. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $824.50.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $6.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $870.59. 1,516,332 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,984,218. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $530.56 and a 12-month high of $896.67. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $848.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $783.16. The company has a market capitalization of $385.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.94, a PEG ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.43 EPS. Analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,249,526. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale 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.