Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Sells 436 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,678 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 436 shares during the period. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,018,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,634,627 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,941,708,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315,174 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.4% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,385 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,069,186,000 after acquiring an additional 111,505 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 118,320.2% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,396,524 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,376,513,000 after acquiring an additional 7,390,278 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,595,523 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,780,247,000 after acquiring an additional 535,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $2,328,844,000. 66.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on COST. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $545.00 to $570.00 in a research note on Friday, June 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, August 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $475.00 to $510.00 in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, VNET Group restated a “reiterates” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, June 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $566.63.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ COST traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $562.29. 338,434 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,784,541. The stock has a market cap of $249.15 billion, a PE ratio of 41.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.79. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $447.90 and a 52 week high of $571.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $551.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $519.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 25th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 24th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.00, for a total transaction of $834,145.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,104,357. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.22% 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, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Australia, Spain, France, Iceland, China, and Taiwan. It offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.