Prosperity Consulting Group LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Prosperity Consulting Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 10.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,552 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 521 shares during the quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $925.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $780.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $844.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of COST stock opened at $916.00 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $540.23 and a 12-month high of $923.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $406.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.75, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $861.57 and its 200 day moving average is $805.62.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. 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 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.