Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,447 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stanich Group LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $214,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Brentview Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,522,000. Manuka Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Finally, Flavin Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $1,494,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,035.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock traded up $1.33 on Wednesday, reaching $1,056.92. 537,279 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,046,319. The company has a market cap of $468.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.06, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $988.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $977.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $793.00 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 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 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 30.36%.

About Costco Wholesale

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.