Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,631 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 528 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strong Tower Advisory Services increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 52.1% in the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,620 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 22.8% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,533 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,003,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the period. Parcion Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 30.8% during the second quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,596 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aspiriant LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.1% during the first quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,705,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on COST. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Argus upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $780.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $844.52.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $897.27 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $540.23 and a 1 year high of $923.83. The firm has a market cap of $397.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.59, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $862.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $808.65. 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,015,745. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.