Infusive Asset Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Infusive Asset Management Inc. increased its stock holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 36.8%, owning a total of 14,654 shares valued at approximately $13.86 million.
• Major institutional investors like GAMMA Investing LLC and Vanguard Group Inc. have significantly modified their positions in Costco, with GAMMA increasing holdings by over 106,000% during the same period.
• Costco recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share with a dividend yield of 0.5%, upholding a payout ratio of 29.50%.

Infusive Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 36.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,654 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 3,941 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 6.4% of Infusive Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Infusive Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COST. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after buying an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth about $3,461,159,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $95,452,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock worth $40,332,515,000 after buying an additional 443,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 84.0% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 812,188 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $768,114,000 after purchasing an additional 370,806 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,147 shares of company stock valued at $8,039,440 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several research reports. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on 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. 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 stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.6%

COST stock opened at $955.90 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $423.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.22, a PEG ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $867.16 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $962.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $978.32.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding COST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.