Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Acquired by Modern Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Modern Wealth Management LLC has increased its holdings in Costco by 6.7% in the first quarter, now owning a total of 7,908 shares worth approximately $7.48 million.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, resulting in a dividend yield of 0.5% with a payout ratio of 29.50%.
• As of the latest reports, Costco's stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts, with a price target of around $1,056.67.

Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 6.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,908 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 500 shares during the quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $40,332,515,000 after buying an additional 443,101 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,332,009 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,097,127,000 after purchasing an additional 18,045 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 5.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,695,796,000 after purchasing an additional 191,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $3,461,159,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:COST traded up $3.58 on Friday, hitting $967.90. 1,460,154 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,950,274. The stock has a market cap of $429.24 billion, a PE ratio of 54.90, a PEG ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $960.40 and a 200-day moving average of $974.64. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $867.16 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,147 shares of company stock worth $5,031,130 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on COST shares. Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,056.67.

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.