Monument Group Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $208,000 in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Monument Group Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 245 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Vima LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $876.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $540.23 and a twelve month high of $918.93. The company’s 50 day moving average is $857.45 and its 200 day moving average is $800.19. The company has a market cap of $388.66 billion, a PE ratio of 54.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,015,745. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $828.73.

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.