Strs Ohio Takes $121.74 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale, purchasing 128,715 shares valued at approximately $121.74 million, making it the 26th biggest holding in their portfolio.
• Several institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC, have significantly increased their holdings in Costco, with GAMMA raising theirs by 106,402.1% in the first quarter.
• Costco recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 29.50%.

Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 128,715 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $121,736,000. Costco Wholesale comprises 0.5% of Strs Ohio's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth approximately $3,461,159,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock worth $40,332,515,000 after acquiring an additional 443,101 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 84.0% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 812,188 shares of the retailer's stock worth $768,114,000 after purchasing an additional 370,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $280,046,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,147 shares of company stock valued at $5,031,130. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $956.29 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.16 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The stock's 50 day moving average is $961.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $976.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $424.10 billion, a PE ratio of 54.24, a P/E/G ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,056.67.

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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