Deutsche Bank AG Acquires 30,714 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.1%, owning a total of 1,486,284 shares, valued at approximately $1.41 billion.
• Costco reported earnings per share (EPS) of $4.28 for the recent quarter, surpassing analyst expectations and indicating an 8% year-over-year revenue growth of $63.21 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, with a payout ratio of 29.50%, set to be distributed on August 15th.

Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,486,284 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 30,714 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 0.6% of Deutsche Bank AG's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.33% of Costco Wholesale worth $1,405,698,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peninsula Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 818 shares of the retailer's stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Bosun Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Corps Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,463,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. now owns 980 shares of the retailer's stock worth $898,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 3,437 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,163,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Erste Group Bank lowered Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI cut 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,040.81.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $3.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $980.98. 2,188,224 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,172,175. The company has a market capitalization of $435.05 billion, a PE ratio of 55.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a fifty day moving average of $979.28 and a 200 day moving average of $984.62. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $837.63 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. 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 (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.