Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) is Aljian Capital Management LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Aljian Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,120 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 527 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 15.3% of Aljian Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Aljian Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $46,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 473,702 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $3,628,694,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.1% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,794,480 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,844,581,000 after purchasing an additional 85,398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,657,994 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,754,489,000 after acquiring an additional 77,345 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now 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 available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’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 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,970 shares of company stock worth $4,249,526. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $1.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $879.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,305,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,967,249. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $851.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $788.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $530.56 and a 1 year high of $896.67. The firm has a market cap of $389.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.43 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Gordon Haskett upgraded Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $920.00 to $915.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $824.50.

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.