Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Makes New $1.78 Million Investment in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,797 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,782,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after purchasing an additional 252,118 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,665,921,000 after purchasing an additional 149,209 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,182,316,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:COST traded down $2.96 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $950.95. The stock had a trading volume of 2,093,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,068,072. 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 Corporation has a 1-year low of $793.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,000.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $982.43. The company has a market cap of $421.73 billion, a PE ratio of 53.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.97.

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 for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.