Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Bought by Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Key Points

• Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.8%, owning 67,700 shares valued at approximately $64 million by the end of the first quarter.
• During the first quarter, several institutional investors, including Zurich Insurance Group and Woodline Partners LP, made significant increases in their holdings of Costco shares, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Costco recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, providing a 0.5% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 29.5% as of the latest financial disclosure.

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,700 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 0.6% of Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $64,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth about $3,461,159,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 443,101 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 84.0% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 812,188 shares of the retailer's stock worth $768,114,000 after acquiring an additional 370,806 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $280,046,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the 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 directly owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the 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 directly owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,147 shares of company stock valued at $5,031,130 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of COST stock traded up $3.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $967.90. 1,460,154 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,950,274. The stock has a market cap of $429.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.90, a P/E/G ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.97. The stock's fifty day moving average is $960.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $975.04. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $867.16 and a 52-week 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 Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. 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 note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,056.67.

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.