Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $343.10 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 362,772 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 9,455 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.08% of Costco Wholesale worth $343,103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $5,182,316,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $95,452,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after purchasing an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $954.31. 906,153 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,063,475. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $423.22 billion, a PE ratio of 54.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.97. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $1,000.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $982.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on COST. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

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.