ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Invests $81.03 Million in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. has acquired 85,680 shares of Costco Wholesale, amounting to approximately $81 million, making it the firm's 12th biggest position.
• Costco's quarterly earnings surpassed expectations with $4.28 EPS and revenue of $63.21 billion, signaling an 8% increase compared to the previous year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, reflecting a 0.6% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 29.50%.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 85,680 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $81,032,000. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.2% of ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.'s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.4% in the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $8.89 during trading on Thursday, reaching $977.45. The stock had a trading volume of 1,889,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,222,700. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $433.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.44, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $979.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $984.62. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $820.45 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on COST shares. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on 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. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,040.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $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 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

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.