Virtu Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,111 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $4,344,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Vima LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $955.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $925.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $844.52.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of COST stock opened at $907.87 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $540.23 and a fifty-two week high of $923.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $862.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $807.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $402.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.25, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.75%.

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.