Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Guardian Partners Inc.

Key Points

• Guardian Partners Inc. reduces its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 4.2%, now holding 9,929 shares valued at approximately $9.69 million.
• Several analysts have set new price targets for Costco, with Morgan Stanley increasing their target from $1,150 to $1,225 and maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• Costco recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, yielding 0.5% annually, with a payout ratio of 29.5%.

Guardian Partners Inc. lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,929 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 432 shares during the period. Guardian Partners Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 80.8% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,375,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 12,147 shares of the retailer's stock worth $11,488,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Knightsbridge Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Knightsbridge Asset Management LLC now owns 5,841 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,524,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 86.1% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 817 shares of the retailer's stock worth $772,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 416 shares of the retailer's stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Insiders have sold a total of 5,147 shares of company stock valued at $5,031,130 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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 research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Seventeen investment 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 an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST traded up $7.40 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $979.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,495,242 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,972,492. 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 1-year low of $867.16 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $434.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.54, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $961.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $976.25.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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