Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 8,016 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 88,785 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,016 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $75,466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 57.3% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 626 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $703,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 62.6% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,309 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,184,000 after acquiring an additional 1,274 shares during the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 46.8% in the fourth quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 2,036 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,344,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quotient Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $1,957,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Costco Wholesale 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 transaction of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now 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 is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’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 transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $955.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $844.52.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock 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 stock has a market cap of $397.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $858.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $801.88. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $540.23 and a 1 year high of $918.93.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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