Chris Bulman Inc Makes New Investment in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Chris Bulman Inc bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,815 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,543,000. Costco Wholesale comprises 1.1% of Chris Bulman Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $3,628,694,000. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 8.1% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,802,147,000 after purchasing an additional 285,533 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised 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 during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,278,824 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $844,126,000 after buying an additional 316,426 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 target price (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $828.73.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $876.68 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $540.23 and a twelve month high of $918.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $857.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $800.19. The company has a market capitalization of $388.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.32, a PEG ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.