Charter Capital Management LLC DE Invests $431,000 in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Charter Capital Management LLC DE invested approximately $431,000 in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by purchasing 435 shares in the 2nd quarter.
• Costco's recent quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share brings its annualized yield to 0.6%, with a dividend payout ratio of 29.50%.
• A number of brokerages have set new price targets for Costco, with Morgan Stanley increasing its target price from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and issuing an "overweight" rating.

Charter Capital Management LLC DE purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 435 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $431,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock worth $40,332,515,000 after purchasing an additional 443,101 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised 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 buying an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,332,009 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,097,127,000 after buying an additional 18,045 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,695,796,000 after buying an additional 191,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth about $3,461,159,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $943.60 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $956.73 and its 200 day moving average is $970.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $867.16 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $418.46 billion, a PE ratio of 53.52, a PEG ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on COST. Erste Group Bank lowered Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,061.30.

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.

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