Strategic Financial Services Inc. Buys 12 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Strategic Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,116 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.4% during the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,436,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $236,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $3,095,000. Rossmore Private Capital raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the first quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 6,687 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,325,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $241,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,147 shares of company stock valued at $5,031,130. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $956.29 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $867.16 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $961.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $976.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $424.10 billion, a PE ratio of 54.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Erste Group Bank cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,056.67.

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.