Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Makes New Investment in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 128,556 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $117,792,000. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.4% of Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stanich Group LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $214,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 252,118 shares during the period. Brentview Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,522,000. Manuka Financial LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $258,000. Finally, Flavin Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,494,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of COST traded up $40.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $1,048.78. 5,400,884 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,061,175. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $788.20 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $983.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $975.34. The company has a market cap of $465.33 billion, a PE ratio of 61.58, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.36%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,035.32.

About Costco Wholesale

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.