Candriam S.C.A. Has $53.30 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. reduced its stake in Costco to 56,353 shares, worth approximately $53.3 million, after selling 2,100 shares in Q1 2023.
• Institutional investors collectively own 68.48% of Costco's shares, with notable increases in positions from GAMMA Investing and Vanguard Group.
• Costco recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 29.50%.

Candriam S.C.A. decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,353 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,100 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $53,298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COST. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,717,744,000 after buying an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth about $3,461,159,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $95,452,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,817,573,000 after buying an additional 587,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock worth $40,332,515,000 after buying an additional 443,101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.2%

COST stock opened at $980.85 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $867.16 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market cap of $434.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.64, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 0.96. The business's 50 day moving average is $971.19 and its 200-day moving average is $986.09. 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 data 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 company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%.The company's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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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