Intech Investment Management LLC Has $39.73 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Intech Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 15.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 42,009 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 7,844 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $39,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $40,332,515,000 after purchasing an additional 443,101 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,332,009 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,097,127,000 after purchasing an additional 18,045 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 5.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,695,796,000 after purchasing an additional 191,985 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at $3,461,159,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,147 shares of company stock valued at $5,031,130. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on COST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,056.67.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $979.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $434.28 billion, a PE ratio of 55.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50-day moving average is $961.73 and its 200-day moving average is $976.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.16 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.