DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Increases Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 284,109 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 3,921 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned about 0.06% of Costco Wholesale worth $261,977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $6.34 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $985.84. 1,714,765 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,071,720. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $793.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The company's 50 day moving average price is $1,005.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $981.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $437.20 billion, a PE ratio of 55.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Cfra Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. 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.com, Costco Wholesale presently 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.