Fifth Third Bancorp Purchases 276 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 228,917 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.8% of Fifth Third Bancorp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Fifth Third Bancorp owned approximately 0.05% of Costco Wholesale worth $216,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. Capital & Planning LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,441,000 after buying an additional 837 shares during the last quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $1,214,000. May Barnhard Investments LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $485,000. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,852 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,529,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Nine investment 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,035.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $10,825,205. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ COST traded up $5.93 on Thursday, hitting $1,002.71. 1,717,246 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,062,711. The company's 50 day moving average price is $996.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $980.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $444.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. 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.