AlTi Global Inc. Acquires 912 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

AlTi Global Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 34.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,578 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 912 shares during the quarter. AlTi Global Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COST. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,394,465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519,861 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $729,476,000 after acquiring an additional 795,345 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after buying an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $38,668,069,000 after acquiring an additional 455,043 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST traded up $6.59 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $1,014.89. 1,950,563 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,033,033. The stock has a market capitalization of $450.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.59, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $746.48 and a 52-week 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. The company's fifty day moving average price is $961.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $959.95.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. 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 0.51%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.36%.

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.