Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Has $3.73 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,384 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.0% during the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,573,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 113,845 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $96,767,000 after buying an additional 11,446 shares during the last quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 29,256 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,867,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 4,830 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,105,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 2,643 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,247,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 target price (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $925.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $824.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:COST traded up $5.75 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $892.38. 1,933,485 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,963,146. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $539.31 and a one year high of $918.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $395.62 billion, a PE ratio of 55.29, a PEG ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $854.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $794.02.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.43 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.