Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 133,838 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 5,512 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $126,581,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $236,000. RW Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. RW Investment Management LLC now owns 5,624 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,153,000 after acquiring an additional 989 shares during the last quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management now owns 10,536 shares of the retailer's stock worth $9,654,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Umpqua Bank lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 4,507 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,134,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
COST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial upped their price target 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,034.79.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Costco Wholesale
Costco Wholesale Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $974.90 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $1,002.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $981.11. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $432.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.30, a P/E/G ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 1.00. 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 (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted 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 analysts' expectations 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 prior year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.
Insider Activity
In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $10,825,205. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
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.
Featured Stories
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
Before you consider Costco Wholesale, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Costco Wholesale wasn't on the list.
While Costco Wholesale currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Nuclear energy stocks are roaring. It's the hottest energy sector of the year. Cameco Corp, Paladin Energy, and BWX Technologies were all up more than 40% in 2024. The biggest market moves could still be ahead of us, and there are seven nuclear energy stocks that could rise much higher in the next several months. To unlock these tickers, enter your email address below.
Get This Free Report
