Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Acquired by Annex Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter, owning 35,554 shares worth approximately $35.2 million.
• Wall Street analysts have set an average price target of $1,056.67 for Costco, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy," influenced by various institutional investors' interest in the company's stock.
• Costco recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, totaling an annualized dividend of $5.20, reflecting a yield of 0.5%.

Annex Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,554 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,083 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $35,197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,838 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,810,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,636,000. TTP Investments Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth approximately $588,000. Capital Advantage Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advantage Inc. now owns 1,109 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,098,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC now owns 860 shares of the retailer's stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.8%

COST stock traded down $7.90 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $943.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,781,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,204,146. The firm's 50-day moving average is $957.97 and its 200-day moving average is $971.32. The company has a market cap of $418.32 billion, a PE ratio of 53.50, a P/E/G ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $867.16 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,056.67.

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.