Sunflower Bank N.A. Raises Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sunflower Bank N.A. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 687 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 49 shares during the quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,226,000. Abound Wealth Management grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% during the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 743 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $631,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Black Diamond Financial LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 53.4% during the second quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC now owns 557 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $474,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 28.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,078 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,307,363,000 after buying an additional 338,780 shares during the period. Finally, One Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 36.5% during the second quarter. One Capital Management LLC now owns 11,696 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,941,000 after buying an additional 3,130 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $924.70 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $948.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $899.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $410.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.30, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $675.96 and a 12-month high of $1,008.25.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 target price (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,013.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.