BTC Capital Management Inc. Takes Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• BTC Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale, purchasing 5,705 shares valued at approximately $5.6 million.
• Institutional investors collectively own 68.48% of Costco's stock, with significant increases in holdings reported from several hedge funds.
• Costco recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, equating to an annualized yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 29.50%.

BTC Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 5,705 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $5,636,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth about $3,461,159,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 418,980.3% during the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 2,359,422 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,335,686,000 after purchasing an additional 2,358,859 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $40,332,515,000 after purchasing an additional 443,101 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 84.0% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 812,188 shares of the retailer's stock worth $768,114,000 after acquiring an additional 370,806 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $951.16 on Friday. 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $957.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $971.70. The company has a market cap of $421.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.95, a P/E/G ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $867.16 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on COST shares. Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.

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