Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Has $139.66 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 16.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 150,226 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 21,249 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $139,659,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:COST traded down $3.24 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $982.72. The stock had a trading volume of 1,012,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,229,713. The business's 50 day moving average is $1,004.67 and its 200-day moving average is $981.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $435.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.75, a P/E/G ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.