ABN AMRO Bank N.V. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 126,761 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 10,073 shares during the quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $108,992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,620,717 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $37,615,889,000 after purchasing an additional 165,349 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 45.0% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 3,176,606 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,893,697,000 after purchasing an additional 986,182 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,145,241 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,911,331,000 after purchasing an additional 34,826 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.5% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,619,703 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,499,246,000 after purchasing an additional 127,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,210,837 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,120,787,000 after purchasing an additional 8,259 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
COST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, February 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $1,185.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Gordon Haskett increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,100.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $1,100.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,046.03.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Costco Wholesale
Costco Wholesale Price Performance
Shares of COST opened at $1,008.79 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $844.06 and a 1 year high of $1,067.08. The stock has a market cap of $447.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 0.92. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $998.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $951.50.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The retailer reported $4.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $69.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.96 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.57% and a net margin of 2.99%.The company's revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.02 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.32 earnings per share for the current year.
Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $1.47 per share. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 30.58%.
More Costco Wholesale News
Here are the key news stories impacting Costco Wholesale this week:
Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale
In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 730 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,003.02, for a total transaction of $732,204.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,121 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,139,485.42. This trade represents a 10.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Costco Wholesale Profile
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Free Report)
Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a global chain of membership-only warehouse clubs that sell a wide array of merchandise in bulk at discounted prices. The company's product mix includes groceries, fresh and frozen food, household goods, electronics, apparel, and seasonal items, augmented by its prominent private-label brand, Kirkland Signature. Costco's business model centers on annual membership fees and high-volume, low-margin sales, designed to drive repeat purchasing and strong customer loyalty among both consumers and small-business buyers.
Beyond merchandise, Costco provides a range of ancillary services that complement its warehouses, including gasoline stations, pharmacy and optical services, hearing aid centers, photo services, and travel and insurance products.
Further Reading
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding COST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report).

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