Russell Investments Group Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 4.3%, now holding 356,152 shares valued at approximately $336.8 million.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its price target on Costco stock from $1,115 to $1,160 and rated it as "overweight," while other brokerages have varied in their ratings.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, payable on August 15, representing an annualized yield of 0.5%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 356,152 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 14,623 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 0.5% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.08% of Costco Wholesale worth $336,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 6.1% during the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 178,153 shares of the retailer's stock worth $168,092,000 after purchasing an additional 10,234 shares during the period. Telligent Fund LP increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.4% during the first quarter. Telligent Fund LP now owns 4,700 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,445,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Rossmore Private Capital grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the first quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 6,687 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,325,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $250,000. Finally, Trajan Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.4% during the first quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 41,225 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,990,000 after buying an additional 2,831 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on COST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective 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. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $988.74 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $852.40 and a 12 month 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $976.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $985.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $438.49 billion, a PE ratio of 56.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. Equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value 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 $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale 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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