Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Buys 614 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,843 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strong Tower Advisory Services boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.9% during the first quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 52.1% in the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,620 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.8% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,533 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,003,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares during the period. Parcion Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 30.8% in the second quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,596 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,757,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares during the period. Finally, Aspiriant LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.1% in the first quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,705,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $897.27 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $862.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $808.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $397.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.59, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $540.23 and a 12 month high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other 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 transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $955.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Argus increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Bank of America upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $844.52.

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.