Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Has $504,000 Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 38.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 533 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 335 shares during the period. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $504,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 117,254 shares of the retailer's stock worth $107,436,000 after buying an additional 36,384 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 4,813 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,410,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Value Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,501 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,789,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on COST shares. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Truist Financial increased 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 note on Friday, May 30th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Loop Capital lowered their target price 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. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $970.33 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $430.32 billion, a PE ratio of 55.04, a PEG ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 0.97. The company's fifty day moving average is $1,003.77 and its 200 day moving average is $982.24. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $793.00 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950 in the last quarter. 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.

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