Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Makes New Investment in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 305,637 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $280,046,000. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.6% of Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH's holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.07% of Costco Wholesale at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Stanich Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $214,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,901,249,000 after acquiring an additional 252,118 shares during the period. Brentview Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $4,522,000. Manuka Financial LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $258,000. Finally, Flavin Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $1,494,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on COST shares. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of 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. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.9%

COST traded up $9.29 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $1,017.79. 1,865,159 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,050,996. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $451.58 billion, a PE ratio of 59.76, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The stock's 50-day moving average is $975.30 and its 200 day moving average is $973.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $788.20 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

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.