Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Makes New $15.48 Million Investment in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 16,892 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $15,478,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,489,574,000 after buying an additional 32,074 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at about $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $984,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,030.43.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of COST stock opened at $916.61 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $697.27 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $406.88 billion, a PE ratio of 53.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s fifty day moving average is $989.68 and its 200-day moving average is $945.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. Equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.