Two Sigma Investments LP Raises Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 168,898 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,990 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $154,756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.5%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,025.83 on Monday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $961.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $968.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $455.14 billion, a PE ratio of 60.24, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $788.20 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.02 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Cfra Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

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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