Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Bought by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 0.4%, owning a total of 4,332,009 shares valued at approximately $4.1 billion.
• Despite recent purchases by institutional investors, shares of Costco have faced mixed ratings from analysts, with a "Moderate Buy" average rating and price targets ranging from $1,035 to $1,225.
• Costco recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.6% and a payout ratio of 29.50%.

Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,332,009 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 18,045 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.5% of Alliancebernstein L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.98% of Costco Wholesale worth $4,097,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 439,093 shares of the retailer's stock worth $408,366,000 after acquiring an additional 136,876 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,158 shares of the retailer's stock worth $27,577,000 after buying an additional 2,493 shares during the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,621 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,533,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 99.1% in the 1st quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 649 shares of the retailer's stock worth $614,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rench Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. now owns 7,518 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,110,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $7.58 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $963.48. 1,926,561 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,013,209. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.16 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The stock's fifty day moving average is $962.23 and its 200 day moving average is $977.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $427.28 billion, a PE ratio of 54.65, a PEG ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on COST. Erste Group Bank cut Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,050.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,147 shares of company stock worth $8,039,440. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.