Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Has $23.96 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd reduced its stake in Costco by 13.4%, now holding 25,767 shares worth approximately $23.96 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• GAMMA Investing LLC dramatically increased its position by over 106,402%, owning about 8.16 million shares valued at $7.72 billion.
• Costco recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, reflecting a 0.56% yield based on its annualized payout ratio of 29.50%.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd trimmed its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 13.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,767 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 3,994 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $23,955,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the fourth 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. FMR LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 149,209 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after purchasing an additional 587,303 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,990,957 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,656,828,000 after purchasing an additional 18,897 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on COST. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on 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. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $1.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $935.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,825,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,969,335. The firm has a market capitalization of $414.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.06, a PEG ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $992.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $983.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $793.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.