Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Holdings Raised by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,357,630 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 125,441 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 2.2% of Jennison Associates LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.76% of Costco Wholesale worth $3,175,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Burling Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Burling Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,334 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,099,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at about $225,000. Acas LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Acas LLC now owns 3,615 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,612,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 36.3% in the 1st quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 9,631 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $9,109,000 after purchasing an additional 2,566 shares during the period. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 5,145 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,866,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Loop Capital decreased 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 report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Truist Financial increased 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 report on Friday, May 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.3%

COST traded down $2.96 on Friday, hitting $950.95. The company had a trading volume of 2,110,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,067,122. The firm has a market cap of $421.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.94, a PEG ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $793.00 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The company's fifty day moving average price is $998.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $982.67. 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 (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during 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%. Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

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.