Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Acquires 65,579 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 19.4%, acquiring an additional 65,579 shares to bring its total to 403,905 shares.
• Costco recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.28, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue increasing 8.0% year-over-year to $63.21 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.5%, reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 29.50%.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 19.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 403,905 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 65,579 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.8% of Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec's portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned approximately 0.09% of Costco Wholesale worth $382,005,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock worth $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 45.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 117,254 shares of the retailer's stock worth $107,436,000 after acquiring an additional 36,384 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 4,813 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,410,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,571,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,147 shares of company stock worth $10,067,740. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $958.54 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $969.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $984.60. The stock has a market cap of $425.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.37, a P/E/G ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 0.96. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.16 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on COST. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, August 4th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,050.00.

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.

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