Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. Lowers Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 26.3%, owning 1,295 shares worth approximately $1.29 million after selling 463 shares in the second quarter.
• Several institutional investors have recently adjusted their stakes in Costco, with notable increases, such as Anderson Financial Strategies LLC, which grew its holdings by 900% in the first quarter.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, contributing to an annualized payout of $5.20, resulting in a yield of 0.5%.

Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,295 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 463 shares during the period. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,147 shares of company stock valued at $5,031,130. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective 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. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,056.67.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.8%

COST stock opened at $960.10 on Tuesday. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $959.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $973.69. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $867.16 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $425.79 billion, a PE ratio of 54.46, a P/E/G ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

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