EP Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 2.3%, totaling 139,638 shares valued at approximately $132 million, making Costco its 23rd biggest holding.
• Other investors, including Vanguard Group and GAMMA Investing, also raised their stakes in Costco, with hedge funds owning 68.48% of the retailer's stock.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.6% with a payout ratio of 29.5%.

EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 139,638 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,096 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 1.1% of EP Wealth Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $132,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock worth $40,332,515,000 after buying an additional 443,101 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,695,796,000 after buying an additional 191,985 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at $3,461,159,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.9% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,357,630 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,175,579,000 after buying an additional 125,441 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital cut their price target on 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,050.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 10,147 shares of company stock worth $10,067,740. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2%

COST stock opened at $943.32 on Tuesday. 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 market cap of $418.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.51, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.97. The business's 50-day moving average is $965.20 and its 200 day moving average is $979.61.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

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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