Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,246 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,763 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 0.8% of iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $44,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $904.05 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $697.27 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $988.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $944.83. The firm has a market cap of $401.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.09, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

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 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 firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued 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 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 27.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on COST. Raymond James raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 target price (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,030.43.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.