IMS Capital Management Buys Shares of 3,904 Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

IMS Capital Management purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 3,904 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,864,000. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.8% of IMS Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth about $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.0%

COST stock opened at $943.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $418.46 billion, a PE ratio of 53.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $867.16 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $956.73 and a 200 day moving average of $970.98.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 29.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,061.30.

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.