The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 993 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in Costco by 0.3%, selling 993 shares and holding a total of 307,349 shares valued at approximately $290.7 million.
• Institutional investors own 68.48% of Costco's stock, with significant increases in positions by several firms, including GAMMA Investing LLC, which boosted its holdings by over 106,000%.
• Costco recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, representing a 0.6% yield and a payout ratio of 29.5%.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 307,349 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 993 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.07% of Costco Wholesale worth $290,682,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in 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 period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $3,461,159,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $95,452,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 443,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 84.0% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 812,188 shares of the retailer's stock worth $768,114,000 after buying an additional 370,806 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on COST. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target 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. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,050.00.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,147 shares of company stock valued at $10,067,740 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $944.96 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $967.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $982.55. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $867.16 and a 52 week 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 stock has a market capitalization of $419.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.60, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.96.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

About Costco Wholesale

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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