APG Asset Management N.V. Purchases 19,402 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• APG Asset Management N.V. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 5.1%, purchasing an additional 19,402 shares, bringing its total holdings to 396,217 shares valued at approximately $346.9 million.
• Costco's latest earnings report revealed $4.28 earnings per share, surpassing analyst expectations, with revenue of $63.21 billion, indicating an 8% increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a $1.30 quarterly dividend, representing a 0.5% yield and a payout ratio of 29.50%, with the dividend paid to investors on August 15th.

APG Asset Management N.V. grew its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 396,217 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 19,402 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.1% of APG Asset Management N.V.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. APG Asset Management N.V. owned approximately 0.09% of Costco Wholesale worth $346,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of COST opened at $958.54 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.16 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The company has a market cap of $425.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.37, a P/E/G ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $969.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $985.46.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend 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 currently 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,147 shares of company stock worth $10,067,740 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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