DnB Asset Management AS Acquires 20,206 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• DnB Asset Management AS increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.6% during the first quarter, owning 109,788 shares valued at approximately $103.8 million.
• Costco's recent stock performance shows a market capitalization of $421.21 billion with a 52-week range between $867.16 and $1,078.23.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 29.5%.

DnB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 22.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 109,788 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 20,206 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $103,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock worth $40,332,515,000 after purchasing an additional 443,101 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,332,009 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,097,127,000 after purchasing an additional 18,045 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,695,796,000 after purchasing an additional 191,985 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at $3,461,159,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on 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. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,050.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% 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 Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,147 shares of company stock worth $8,039,440. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock traded up $7.58 during trading on Friday, reaching $963.48. 1,926,561 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,013,209. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.16 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The company has a market capitalization of $427.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $962.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $977.68. 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 Announces Dividend

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