Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Sells 45 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 747 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 45 shares during the quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 473,702 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,802,147,000 after buying an additional 285,533 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,790,935 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,842,241,000 after buying an additional 81,853 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 28.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,078 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,307,363,000 after buying an additional 338,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,253,508,000 after buying an additional 1,473,248 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, 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. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of 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. In 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $910.00 to $915.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $780.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $844.52.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $897.27 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $540.23 and a 52-week high of $923.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $397.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.59, a P/E/G ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a fifty day moving average of $862.32 and a 200-day moving average of $808.65.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.