Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 3.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 132,602 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,827 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 0.8% of Arizona State Retirement System's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $125,412,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. May Barnhard Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $485,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 45.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 117,254 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $107,436,000 after purchasing an additional 36,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 4,813 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,410,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $970.33. 1,939,399 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,068,105. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,003.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $981.90. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The company has a market capitalization of $430.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.04, a PEG ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. Costco Wholesale's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is a positive change 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 0.54%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Truist Financial raised 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. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.