Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 10,234 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 6.1%, now holding a total of 178,153 shares worth approximately $168.09 million.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, payable on August 15, and has an annualized dividend yield of 0.5%.
• The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts’ expectations, and had a revenue of $63.21 billion, marking an 8% increase year-over-year.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 178,153 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 10,234 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 1.0% of Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $168,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Loop Capital decreased their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $2.51 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $991.25. The company had a trading volume of 1,587,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,215,102. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $856.16 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $439.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.23, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $975.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $985.81.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

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.