Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,542 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $5,994,000. Costco Wholesale comprises about 0.8% of Mufg Securities Americas Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding.
Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,670,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 4,786 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,386,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 54.6% in the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 705 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Grassi Investment Management raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Grassi Investment Management now owns 5,155 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,723,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Finally, Enterprise Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co now owns 7,317 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,704,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Costco Wholesale Price Performance
Costco Wholesale stock traded up $15.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1,025.83. 2,026,566 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,042,332. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $959.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $966.17. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $788.20 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The company has a market capitalization of $455.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.24, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.02 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.
Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.36%.
Insider Activity
In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% 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 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Costco Wholesale
Costco Wholesale Profile
(
Free Report)
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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