Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 99,661 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 9,023 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.9% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $94,257,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth 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 holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 252,118 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 149,209 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $5,182,316,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company'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 transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,037.48.
View Our Latest Report on Costco Wholesale
Costco Wholesale Stock Performance
NASDAQ COST traded up $2.54 on Thursday, reaching $953.91. The stock had a trading volume of 2,276,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,066,825. The stock has a market cap of $423.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The business's 50-day moving average price is $1,001.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $982.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.
Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.
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