SVB Wealth LLC Cuts Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

SVB Wealth LLC decreased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 30,149 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,555 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.6% of SVB Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $25,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,628,694,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $510,353,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 287.3% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $710,802,000 after purchasing an additional 620,341 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3,647.1% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 567,641 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $374,688,000 after purchasing an additional 552,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,360,168 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,640,940,000 after buying an additional 485,051 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Argus boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $828.73.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $9.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $876.68. 2,074,604 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,959,834. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $857.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $799.68. The firm has a market cap of $388.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.32, a P/E/G ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $540.23 and a 1-year high of $918.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were 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 owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.