Fiera Capital Corp Grows Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Fiera Capital Corp increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 1.1% in Q1, bringing its total holdings to 73,631 shares valued at $69.64 million.
• Costco recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, which will be paid on August 15th, representing an annualized yield of 0.56%.
• Analysts have varying ratings for Costco shares, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,037.48.

Fiera Capital Corp grew its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 73,631 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 813 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $69,639,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,901,249,000 after purchasing an additional 252,118 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,665,921,000 after acquiring an additional 149,209 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,717,744,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152,528 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,817,573,000 after acquiring an additional 587,303 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,990,957 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,656,828,000 after acquiring an additional 18,897 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $14.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $953.02. The stock had a trading volume of 1,800,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,209,510. The firm has a market cap of $422.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.08, a P/E/G ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $793.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. The business's 50-day moving average is $984.46 and its 200 day moving average is $983.58. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, July 10th. 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 report on Tuesday, June 17th. Mizuho began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,037.48.

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.