Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Acquired by Norinchukin Bank The

Key Points

• Norinchukin Bank increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.3%, holding 78,766 shares valued at approximately $74.5 million.
• Costco reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $4.28 for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates of $4.24, with revenues of $63.21 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 29.5%.

Norinchukin Bank The grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,766 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,994 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.4% of Norinchukin Bank The's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Norinchukin Bank The's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $74,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at $3,461,159,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $95,452,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during 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. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $994.57 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company's fifty day moving average price is $971.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $986.14. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $867.16 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $441.07 billion, a PE ratio of 56.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Loop Capital reduced 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 report on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, August 4th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on 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. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,050.00.

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.

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