Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by Heritage Investors Management Corp

Heritage Investors Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,404 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 370 shares during the quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $22,135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 54,526 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $51,570,000 after buying an additional 1,442 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 23.1% during the first quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 13,922 shares of the retailer's stock worth $13,167,000 after purchasing an additional 2,608 shares during the last quarter. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the first quarter. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,464 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 18.8% during the first quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,605 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,464,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WNY Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.3% during the first quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 365 shares of the retailer's stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.3%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $950.95 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $998.91 and a 200-day moving average of $983.13. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. 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 company has a market cap of $421.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.94, a P/E/G ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. 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.

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