Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC

Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 64.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 244 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 444 shares during the quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $289,000. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,957 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,663,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Curated Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 206.9% during the 2nd quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares during the period. Oak Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,737,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Thrive Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 519 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on COST. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $925.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $970.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $821.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $848.53, for a total transaction of $1,272,795.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,992 shares in the company, valued at $9,327,041.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,350 shares of company stock worth $2,837,131. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $15.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $854.93. 1,710,588 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,297,663. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $530.56 and a 52-week high of $896.67. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $844.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $776.31. The company has a market capitalization of $379.02 billion, a PE ratio of 52.97, a P/E/G ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.43 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.75%.

About Costco Wholesale

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.