Garrison Asset Management LLC Sells 14 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Garrison Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 726 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 14 shares during the quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,916,118,000 after acquiring an additional 473,702 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,628,694,000. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.1% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,802,147,000 after buying an additional 285,533 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,790,935 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,842,241,000 after buying an additional 81,853 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,394,060 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,184,937,000 after acquiring an additional 30,359 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Loop Capital upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $970.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Bank of America lifted their price target 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. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $844.52.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $916.00 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $861.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $806.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $406.09 billion, a PE ratio of 56.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $540.23 and a 52-week high of $923.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders 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.