Sovran Advisors LLC Has $5.52 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Sovran Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 155.7% during the 2nd quarter, now owning 5,600 shares valued at approximately $5.52 million.
• Costco has received a mix of ratings from analysts, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $1,056.67.
• Costco recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 0.5%.

Sovran Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 155.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,600 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 3,410 shares during the quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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 given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,056.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of 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.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST traded down $1.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $951.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,601,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,916,574. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $867.16 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $421.82 billion, a PE ratio of 53.95, a PEG ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $957.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $971.70.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 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.