Provident Investment Management Inc. Acquires 420 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Provident Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 84.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 920 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the period. Provident Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at $20,015,745. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $896.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $858.47 and a 200-day moving average of $801.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $397.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.54, a PEG ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $540.23 and a fifty-two week high of $918.93.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on COST. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $780.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $844.52.

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.