Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Stake Raised by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,751 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,679 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $54,620,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lansing Street Advisors increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 30.5% in the first quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 548 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.5% during the first quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,737 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,426,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the period. Smith Group Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.9% in the first quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 50,471 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $47,734,000 after acquiring an additional 1,894 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 22.4% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 27,846 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $26,336,000 after acquiring an additional 5,092 shares during the period. Finally, Rovin Capital UT ADV lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 35.9% in the first quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 488 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $3.91 during trading on Thursday, hitting $986.27. 1,101,351 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,076,297. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $793.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The stock's fifty day moving average is $1,005.02 and its 200 day moving average is $981.05. The stock has a market cap of $437.39 billion, a PE ratio of 55.94, a P/E/G ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

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.