Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. trimmed its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 433,514 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,274 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 2.8% of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. owned about 0.10% of Costco Wholesale worth $368,482,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 305,990 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $260,096,000 after purchasing an additional 2,463 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.3% in the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 13,117 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,149,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the period. Poehling Capital Management INC. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 21.9% during the second quarter. Poehling Capital Management INC. now owns 1,056 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $898,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 10,823 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,199,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,534,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Argus boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $955.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $844.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $916.00 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $861.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $806.45. The stock has a market cap of $406.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.75, a PEG ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $540.23 and a 12-month high of $923.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Costco Wholesale Profile

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.