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ING Groep NV Increases Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Costco Wholesale logo with Retail/Wholesale background

Key Points

  • ING Groep NV increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 26.9% in the first quarter, purchasing an additional 20,605 shares and raising the total to 97,319 shares valued at approximately $92 million.
  • Costco recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.5%, to be paid on August 15th.
  • The company's most recent earnings report revealed an EPS of $4.28, exceeding estimates and indicating an 8% revenue increase year-over-year.
  • MarketBeat previews the top five stocks to own by September 1st.

ING Groep NV increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 26.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 97,319 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 20,605 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $92,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position 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 worth $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $95,452,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,817,573,000 after purchasing an additional 587,303 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 79.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 775,541 shares of the retailer's stock worth $710,624,000 after purchasing an additional 343,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $280,046,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,037.48.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on COST

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $952.52 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $793.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $422.42 billion, a PE ratio of 54.03, a P/E/G ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 0.96. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $983.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $984.69.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

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.

Read More

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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