Garrison Asset Management LLC Sells 14 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Garrison Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 726 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 14 shares during the period. Garrison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $617,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Oak Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the second quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,737,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 995 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 790 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $671,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LifePro Asset Management raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. LifePro Asset Management now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 price target (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $844.52.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now 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 quarter, insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $916.00 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $861.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $806.04. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $540.23 and a fifty-two week high of $923.83. The company has a market cap of $406.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.75, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.