Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Has $4.13 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 33.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,862 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,495 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 5.2% of Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oak Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,737,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the first quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 995 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the second quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 790 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LifePro Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the second quarter. LifePro Asset Management now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

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 stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,249,526 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 2nd. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $970.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $920.00 to $915.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $824.50.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $1.21 during trading on Monday, reaching $871.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 420,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,977,664. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $848.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $783.16. The company has a market capitalization of $386.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $530.56 and a 12-month high of $896.67.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Costco Wholesale Profile

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.