BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Buys 10,874 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 14.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 84,846 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 10,874 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $77,742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COST. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.2%

COST stock opened at $1,036.82 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $966.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $969.95. The company has a market cap of $460.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.88, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $788.20 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. As a group, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 30.36%.

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.

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