Swedbank AB Raises Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 16.9% during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to approximately 0.11% of the company, valued at $461 million.
• Costco has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.5%.
• Analysts have mixed views on Costco's stock, with several lowering their price targets, while 17 analysts still rate it as a Buy and the consensus target price is $1,056.67.

Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 16.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 487,495 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 70,570 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned about 0.11% of Costco Wholesale worth $461,063,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock opened at $964.32 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.16 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $960.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $975.64. The firm has a market cap of $427.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.70, a PEG ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

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 dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,147 shares of company stock worth $5,031,130 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price target 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. Erste Group Bank lowered Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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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