Capital Research Global Investors Grows Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 79.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 775,541 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 343,390 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $710,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $984,000. Stanich Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $214,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,913 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on 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, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $994.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $441.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.40, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $975.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $952.83. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $706.17 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. 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.