Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 9.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,319 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 1,527 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $17,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares during the period. F&V Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at about $236,000. Umpqua Bank grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 4,507 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,134,000 after buying an additional 577 shares during the period. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at about $241,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.
Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.6%
COST opened at $985.84 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,005.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $981.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $437.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 0.97. 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 Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. 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 James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950 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 analyst reports. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,034.79.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on COST
About Costco Wholesale
(
Free Report)
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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