Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by UMB Bank n.a.

Key Points

• UMB Bank n.a. has reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 2.5% during the second quarter, holding 88,797 shares valued at approximately $87.9 million.
• Costco recently announced a $1.30 quarterly dividend, which translates to an annualized yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 29.50%.
• Analyst ratings show a consensus of 17 Buy and 10 Hold ratings for Costco, with an average target price of $1,056.67.

UMB Bank n.a. lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,797 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,253 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.4% of UMB Bank n.a.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. UMB Bank n.a.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $87,904,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $951.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $421.82 billion, a PE ratio of 53.95, a P/E/G ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 0.97. 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 Corporation has a 12-month low of $867.16 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $957.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $972.23.

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 was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 transaction of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on COST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,056.67.

Costco Wholesale Company 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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