Alhambra Investment Management LLC Trims Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Alhambra Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,847 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 130 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 2.9% of Alhambra Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Alhambra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,788,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,061.30.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.0%

NASDAQ:COST opened at $943.60 on Wednesday. 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 1-year low of $867.16 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $418.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $956.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $970.98.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.50%.

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.