BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Buys 38,803 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

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BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 39.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 138,092 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 38,803 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.5% of BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $130,605,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $979.35 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $867.16 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $434.32 billion, a PE ratio of 55.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company's fifty day moving average price is $971.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $986.12.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued 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. 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 firm's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on COST shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price target 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. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, August 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,050.00.

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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