Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Vancity Investment Management Ltd

Vancity Investment Management Ltd lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,266 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 602 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 2.7% of Vancity Investment Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Vancity Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. 25 LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth $44,000. Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 95 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Lakewood Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,565 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.00, for a total transaction of $834,145.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,104,357. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, CFO Richard A. Galanti sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.02, for a total value of $783,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,450,177. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,565 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.00, for a total transaction of $834,145.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,104,357. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $551.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $244.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.79. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $447.90 and a fifty-two week high of $571.16. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $548.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $517.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 8th. Investors of record on Friday, August 25th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 24th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. VNET Group reaffirmed a “reiterates” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, June 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $567.00 to $597.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $566.63.

Costco Wholesale Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Australia, Spain, France, Iceland, China, and Taiwan. It offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.