Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Has $260.83 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich cut its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 251,643 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,409 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned approximately 0.06% of Costco Wholesale worth $260,827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Truist Financial boosted 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. Cfra Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock traded down $7.39 on Thursday, hitting $933.80. 2,044,194 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,218,964. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $793.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market cap of $414.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.97, a P/E/G ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $995.38 and a 200-day moving average of $983.27. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

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.