Ethic Inc. Increases Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 26.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,180 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,760 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $12,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,394,465,000 after buying an additional 1,519,861 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 795,345 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, 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 have sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock traded up $8.06 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $1,016.15. The company had a trading volume of 2,066,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,030,119. The company has a market capitalization of $450.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.67, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $771.43 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $958.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $964.05.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on COST shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target 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. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, May 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

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.