Plancorp LLC Cuts Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Plancorp LLC reduced its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.8%, owning 2,883 shares after selling 277 shares during the 2nd quarter, valued at approximately $2.85 million.
• Major hedge funds and institutional investors have shown increased interest, with 68.48% of the stock owned by them, while several firms raised their ratings and price targets for Costco shares.
• Costco recently paid a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $5.20 and a 0.6% yield.

Plancorp LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,883 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 277 shares during the quarter. Plancorp LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,854,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Motive Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.4% during the second quarter. Motive Wealth Advisors now owns 525 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $520,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Retirement Guys Formula LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.9% during the second quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 2,987 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,957,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. LeConte Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 49.8% during the second quarter. LeConte Wealth Management LLC now owns 385 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. BigSur Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the second quarter. BigSur Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,113 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,082,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Oxinas Partners Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 11.5% during the second quarter. Oxinas Partners Wealth Management LLC now owns 282 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on COST. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, May 29th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,061.30.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $945.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $419.21 billion, a PE ratio of 53.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $867.16 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The company's fifty day moving average price is $956.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $970.80.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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