Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by Capital World Investors

Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,990,957 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,897 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned about 0.90% of Costco Wholesale worth $3,656,828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of COST. Morse Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 7,481 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,632,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 7,996 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,088,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 76.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 633 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Finally, Sculati Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,235,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock opened at $994.50 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $702.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $441.24 billion, a PE ratio of 58.40, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $975.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $952.32.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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