Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $42.80 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,254 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 846 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 0.6% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $42,800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 now directly owns 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $2.23 during trading on Friday, hitting $985.14. 2,128,085 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,073,172. The firm has a market capitalization of $436.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $793.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $1,003.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $981.10. 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 (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on COST. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,034.79.

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.