358 Shares in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Acquired by Iams Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Iams Wealth Management LLC has invested $354,000 in Costco Wholesale Corporation, acquiring 358 shares during the second quarter.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, representing a 0.5% yield, with a payout ratio of 29.50%.
• The stock has a market capitalization of $421.82 billion and has seen a twelve-month price range between $867.16 and $1,078.23.

Iams Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 358 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $354,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $40,332,515,000 after purchasing an additional 443,101 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,332,009 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,097,127,000 after purchasing an additional 18,045 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,695,796,000 after purchasing an additional 191,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at $3,461,159,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on COST. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted 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 report on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,056.67.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded down $7.90 during trading on Monday, hitting $943.26. 2,781,931 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,990,076. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $957.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $971.17. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.16 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The company has a market cap of $418.32 billion, a PE ratio of 53.50, a PEG ratio of 5.34 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. Stockholders 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 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 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.