Farther Finance Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 35.9%, holding approximately $13.06 million in stock after acquiring an additional 3,486 shares in the second quarter.
• Institutional investors collectively own 68.48% of Costco's stock, with notable increases in holdings from Vanguard Group and GAMMA Investing, among others.
• Costco recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.5%, with a payout ratio currently at 29.50%.

Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 35.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,190 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 3,486 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Corps Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 441 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 866 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on COST shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,056.67.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST traded down $1.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $951.16. 4,601,598 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,916,574. The stock has a market capitalization of $421.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.95, a PEG ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $867.16 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50 day moving average of $957.97 and a 200-day moving average of $971.70.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Costco Wholesale 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.