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

LeConte Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 49.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 385 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the quarter. LeConte Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. F&V Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $236,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $3,095,000. Rossmore Private Capital boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 6,687 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,325,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $241,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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 stock was 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $945.27 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $956.61 and its 200-day moving average is $970.80. 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 quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $867.16 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business 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. 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped 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 note 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,061.30.

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.