Great Lakes Advisors LLC Has $26.98 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 22.4%, now holding shares valued at approximately $26.98 million after selling 8,217 shares in the first quarter.
• Costco recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 29.50%.
• As of now, Costco Wholesale has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a price target of around $1,050.00 per share.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 22.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,527 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 8,217 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $26,981,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,258 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,136,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Hamilton Capital LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC now owns 592 shares of the retailer's stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $1,617,000. Fred Alger Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth about $9,581,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 14,168 shares of the retailer's stock worth $13,400,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on 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. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,056.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,147 shares of company stock worth $5,031,130 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock traded down $22.96 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $956.29. The company had a trading volume of 2,274,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,967,861. The firm has a market capitalization of $424.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $867.16 and a one year 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 moving average price is $961.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $976.27.

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 given 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 currently 29.50%.

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.