Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Acquired by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,291,557 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 383,887 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 0.7% of Invesco Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Invesco Ltd.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,248,384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,356,271 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,920,107,000 after acquiring an additional 711,560 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,275,056 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,124,263,000 after purchasing an additional 150,844 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,692,035,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,332,009 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,097,127,000 after purchasing an additional 18,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth about $3,461,159,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at $6,410,343.68. The trade was a 28.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 9,720 shares of company stock worth $9,010,257 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of COST stock opened at $922.03 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $871.71 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The business has a 50-day moving average of $921.51 and a 200 day moving average of $957.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $408.63 billion, a PE ratio of 50.63, a P/E/G ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on COST shares. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 target price for the company. Hovde Group assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $16.00 price target on the stock. Argus upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,027.75.

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.