Connors Investor Services Inc. Sells 920 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Connors Investor Services Inc. trimmed its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,854 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 920 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.8% of Connors Investor Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Connors Investor Services Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $16,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,916,118,000 after buying an additional 473,702 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,802,147,000 after acquiring an additional 285,533 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,790,935 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,842,241,000 after acquiring an additional 81,853 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,078 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,307,363,000 after purchasing an additional 338,780 shares during the period. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,253,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,248 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $844.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $907.87 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $540.23 and a fifty-two week high of $923.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $862.11 and a 200-day moving average of $807.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $402.49 billion, a PE ratio of 56.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio 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.