Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Has $7.28 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its stake in Costco by 12.3%, holding 7,696 shares valued at approximately $7.28 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Other notable institutional investors, such as Vanguard Group and GAMMA Investing LLC, also significantly increased their stakes in Costco during the first quarter.
• Costco's stock received upgrades from several analysts, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,050.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 12.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,696 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 840 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $40,332,515,000 after purchasing an additional 443,101 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,332,009 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,097,127,000 after purchasing an additional 18,045 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,695,796,000 after purchasing an additional 191,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at $3,461,159,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $955.90 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.16 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The company has a market capitalization of $423.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.22, a P/E/G ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 0.97. The business's 50-day moving average is $962.66 and its 200-day moving average is $978.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, 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 transaction of $595,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,147 shares of company stock valued at $8,039,440. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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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