IFM Investors Pty Ltd Buys 7,547 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 9.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 87,334 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 7,547 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 0.8% of IFM Investors Pty Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $77,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of COST. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,668,069,000 after buying an additional 455,043 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,665,921,000 after acquiring an additional 149,209 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152,528 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,182,316,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4%

COST stock traded up $3.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $986.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,101,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,076,297. The company's fifty day moving average price is $1,005.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $981.08. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $437.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.94, a PEG ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on COST. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,034.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.