Focus Partners Wealth Has $245.53 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 13.3% during the first quarter, owning about 0.06% of the company worth approximately $245.5 million after acquiring additional shares.
• Institutional investors hold 68.48% of Costco's stock, with significant increases in holdings reported by firms like Integrity Alliance LLC, which raised its stake by 271.4%.
• Brokerages have raised their target prices for Costco shares, with Morgan Stanley increasing its target from $1,150 to $1,225, reflecting a growing confidence in the company's performance.

Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 13.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 259,602 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 30,477 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth owned 0.06% of Costco Wholesale worth $245,527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,436,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at $236,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at $3,095,000. Rossmore Private Capital lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 6,687 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,325,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at $241,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president 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. Insiders have sold 5,147 shares of company stock worth $5,031,130 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,056.67.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $3.58 during trading on Friday, hitting $967.90. 1,460,154 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,950,274. The stock has a market capitalization of $429.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $960.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $975.04. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $867.16 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. 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 Dividend Announcement

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

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.