GAM Holding AG Grows Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

GAM Holding AG boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,744 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 1,086 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.2% of GAM Holding AG's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. GAM Holding AG's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $15,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COST. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the fourth 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 period. F&V Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $236,000. AMJ Financial Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management now owns 10,536 shares of the retailer's stock worth $9,654,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 4,507 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,134,000 after buying an additional 577 shares during the period. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $241,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST opened at $980.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $434.74 billion, a PE ratio of 55.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1,002.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $981.10. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $793.00 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on COST shares. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,034.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the director now owns 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,547 shares of company stock worth $11,361,265 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.

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