MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $127.30 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management has reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.6%, now holding $127.30 million worth of shares, which represents about 0.7% of its portfolio.
• Several hedge funds increased their stakes in Costco, including a 45% rise by Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG, indicating a growing institutional interest in the company.
• Costco reported earnings of $4.28 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share.

MetLife Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 134,595 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,236 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 0.7% of MetLife Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $127,297,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,165,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,029,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 117,254 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $107,436,000 after buying an additional 36,384 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 4,813 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,410,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,721 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $20,819,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on COST. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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 note on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.1%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $958.54 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $425.09 billion, a PE ratio of 54.37, a P/E/G ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 0.96. The company's 50-day moving average is $969.85 and its 200-day moving average is $985.06. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $867.16 and a fifty-two week 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.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,147 shares of company stock worth $10,067,740 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.

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