Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Baring Financial LLC

Key Points

• Baring Financial LLC reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 31.7%, now holding 1,360 shares valued at approximately $1.35 million.
• Insider transactions included EVP Yoram Rubanenko selling 4,000 shares for about $3.9 million, representing a 40.92% decrease in his position.
• Costco recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30, with a current dividend yield of 0.6% and a payout ratio of 29.50%.

Baring Financial LLC cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 31.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,360 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 631 shares during the quarter. Baring Financial LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 boosted its holdings 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 valued at $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in 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. boosted its holdings in 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 acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,461,159,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value 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 represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $943.26 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $867.16 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The company's 50 day moving average is $957.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $971.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. 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.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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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