Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.7%, selling 345 shares and holding a total of 5,715 shares valued at approximately $5.4 million.
• Insider selling at Costco included transactions by executives, with EVP Teresa A. Jones selling 600 shares and EVP Yoram Rubanenko selling 4,000 shares, resulting in significant decreases in their respective positions.
• Costco recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.5%, reflecting a payout ratio of 29.50%.

Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC reduced its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,715 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 345 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 2.6% of Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SCS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,893,000. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 40.9% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 37,502 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $35,469,000 after acquiring an additional 10,894 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 83.2% in the first quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 97,414 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $92,132,000 after acquiring an additional 44,243 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 30.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,622 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $15,721,000 after acquiring an additional 3,859 shares during the period. Finally, Peloton Wealth Strategists boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the first quarter. Peloton Wealth Strategists now owns 3,703 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,502,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was 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 $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value 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. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,147 shares of company stock valued at $5,031,130. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. 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 report on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,056.67.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $3.58 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $967.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,443,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,190,332. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $867.16 and a fifty-two week 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $960.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $975.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $429.24 billion, a PE ratio of 54.90, a P/E/G ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued 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 yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.