BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Grows Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 99,289 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,708 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.0% of BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $90,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,394,465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519,861 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,476,000 after purchasing an additional 795,345 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,068,772 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $979,284,000 after buying an additional 382,367 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 2.8 %

COST opened at $994.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $441.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.40, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $975.99 and its 200-day moving average is $952.32. 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 52-week low of $702.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm 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%. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

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.