Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Acquired by Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI

Key Points

• Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 83.2% during the first quarter, acquiring 44,243 shares to reach a total of 97,414 shares valued at approximately $92.1 million.
• Several analysts have given Costco an average rating of "Moderate Buy", with price targets ranging from $1,035 to $1,225 per share.
• Costco recently paid a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, yielding 0.5% annually, with a payout ratio of 29.50%.

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 83.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 97,414 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 44,243 shares during the quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $92,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.4% in the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. F&V Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at about $236,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth about $3,095,000. Rossmore Private Capital boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the first quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 6,687 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,325,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $241,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on COST. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,050.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the business'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 value of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,147 shares of company stock valued at $5,031,130 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $971.85 on Tuesday. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $961.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $976.25. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $867.16 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. The company has a market capitalization of $431.00 billion, a PE ratio of 55.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

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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