Swiss National Bank Purchases 300 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,252,000 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 0.8% of Swiss National Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.28% of Costco Wholesale worth $1,184,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Peninsula Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 818 shares of the retailer's stock worth $749,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer's stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. now owns 980 shares of the retailer's stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 3,437 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,163,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction 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 trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on COST. Mizuho began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank cut Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, May 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,040.81.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.9%

COST stock opened at $977.45 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $433.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.44, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50-day moving average of $979.28 and a 200-day moving average of $984.62. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $820.45 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. Costco Wholesale's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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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