Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Has $51.57 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,526 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,442 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $51,570,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after buying an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $5,182,316,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $95,452,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,817,573,000 after buying an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,668,069,000 after buying an additional 455,043 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were 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 $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on COST. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST traded down $4.66 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $942.90. 1,067,960 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,062,515. The firm has a market capitalization of $418.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.46, a P/E/G ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $998.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $983.64.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 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 period last year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 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.