Scotia Capital Inc. Raises Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Scotia Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 385,352 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 13,869 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.9% of Scotia Capital Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $353,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. One Degree Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. One Degree Advisors Inc now owns 2,339 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Fortune 45 LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 34.7% in the 4th quarter. Fortune 45 LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,003,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. Texas Yale Capital Corp. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 11,676 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,698,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 4,898 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,488,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tandem Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $874,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $965.19 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $428.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.68, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $984.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $948.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $702.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,025.79.

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.