Caprock Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 68.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,075 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,918 shares during the quarter. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the first quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 1,010 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.9% in the first quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,871,000. Finally, Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,930 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,057,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $910.00 to $915.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $955.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $828.73.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $876.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $857.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $800.19. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $540.23 and a 52 week high of $918.93. The stock has a market cap of $388.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.32, a PEG ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following 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 sold a total of 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently 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.