AMJ Financial Wealth Management Grows Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

AMJ Financial Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,196 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 2.4% of AMJ Financial Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. AMJ Financial Wealth Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the second quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 1,465 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,245,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the second quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,297 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,102,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.7% in the second quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,340 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,839,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Seaview Investment Managers LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $9,230,000. Finally, Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.7% during the second quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 17,395 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $14,785,000 after acquiring an additional 5,203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,560,344. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on COST. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $970.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $925.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $844.52.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST traded down $1.57 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $894.92. The stock had a trading volume of 89,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,949,058. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $858.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $801.88. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $540.23 and a fifty-two week high of $918.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $396.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.54, a PEG ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business 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 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.