Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Has $7.28 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 12.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,696 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 840 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.Back-to-School Shopping Hits $40B: 3 Retail Stocks to Watch NowA number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $40,332,515,000 after purchasing an additional 443,101 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,332,009 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,097,127,000 after purchasing an additional 18,045 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,695,796,000 after purchasing an additional 191,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at $3,461,159,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock. Get Costco Wholesale alerts:Analyst Upgrades and DowngradesSeveral equities research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,050.00.MarketBeat Week in Review – 08/25 - 08/29Get Our Latest Research Report on COSTCostco Wholesale Stock Up 0.6%Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $955.90 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.16 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The company has a market capitalization of $423.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.22, a P/E/G ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 0.97. The business's 50-day moving average is $962.66 and its 200-day moving average is $978.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Costco Wholesale Dividend AnnouncementCostco Faces Downgrades, Death Cross, Insider SellingThe firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%. Insiders Place Their BetsIn other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,147 shares of company stock valued at $8,039,440. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock. About Costco Wholesale (Free Report)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.Further ReadingFive stocks we like better than Costco WholesaleWhat is the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) Affirm Crushes Earnings Expectations, Turns Bears into BelieversWhat Are Dividend Achievers? An IntroductionAnalysts See Big Upside for These 3 Retail Stocks Pets Are Big Business: 4 Big-Ticket Pet Stocks to Add to Your PortfolioBuy the Dip? GitLab’s Bullish Case Outweighs the BearsThis instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.Should You Invest $1,000 in Costco Wholesale Right Now?Before you consider Costco Wholesale, you'll want to hear this.MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Costco Wholesale wasn't on the list.While Costco Wholesale currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.View The Five Stocks Here