6,108 Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Acquired by Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC

Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,108 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $4,124,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,049,630,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,099 shares during the period. C WorldWide Group Holding A S acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at about $390,630,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $297,915,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,088,673 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,180,016,000 after buying an additional 323,346 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,161,630 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $656,274,000 after acquiring an additional 300,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Gordon Haskett downgraded Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to an "accumulate" rating and set a $775.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $722.22. 1,605,691 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,040,272. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $320.30 billion, a PE ratio of 47.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $730.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $670.09.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 30.35%.

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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