Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Purchases 4,799 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 235,754 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,799 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 1.0% of Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $216,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% during the 4th 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 lifted its stake 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 worth $729,476,000 after buying an additional 795,345 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,668,069,000 after buying an additional 455,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings 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 worth $979,284,000 after acquiring an additional 382,367 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $994.50 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $975.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $952.32. The firm has a market cap of $441.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $702.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,024.03.

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.