Board of the Pension Protection Fund Purchases New Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 800 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $757,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Miramar Capital LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer's stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Peninsula Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 818 shares of the retailer's stock worth $749,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $583,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Van Cleef Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc now owns 1,338 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,226,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Cfra Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $985.14 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1,003.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $981.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $436.89 billion, a PE ratio of 55.88, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 1.00. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the director now owns 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding COST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.