Swedbank AB Grows Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 582,390 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 94,895 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 0.6% of Swedbank AB’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $576,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Corps Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 441 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 866 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $819,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on COST. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,056.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.2%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $963.03 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $958.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $973.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $427.08 billion, a PE ratio of 54.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $867.16 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

About Costco Wholesale

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.