Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $225.31 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lessened its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 245,901 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 12,176 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.06% of Costco Wholesale worth $225,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth 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. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of COST traded up $0.99 on Friday, reaching $1,008.70. 1,175,590 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,029,974. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $771.43 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $447.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $958.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $963.56.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.36%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business'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 transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on COST. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Ten equities research 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

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.