Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) is Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s 3rd Largest Position

Windward Capital Management Co. CA lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 72,935 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,981 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 5.2% of Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $61,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Vima LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing 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 that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $955.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Gordon Haskett raised Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. 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, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $828.73.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $876.68 on Friday. The stock 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. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $857.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $800.19. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $540.23 and a 1 year high of $918.93.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

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.