Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Boosts Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,156 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,937,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farrell Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.2% during the first quarter. Farrell Financial LLC now owns 522 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.8% during the first quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 25,082 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $23,722,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Defined Financial Planning LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 31.1% during the first quarter. Defined Financial Planning LLC now owns 388 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 23.8% during the first quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 4,335 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,100,000 after acquiring an additional 833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Echo45 Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Echo45 Advisors LLC now owns 722 shares of the retailer's stock worth $683,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,035.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company's 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 now directly owns 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,825,205 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:COST traded down $12.50 on Friday, reaching $990.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,782,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,064,566. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $439.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1,000.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $980.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 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.