Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 233,517 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 7,385 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp owned approximately 0.05% of Costco Wholesale worth $171,082,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vicus Capital increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 520 shares of the retailer's stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 42.1% during the third quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the retailer's stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 26.0% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 2,794 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,578,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 48,934 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $27,646,000 after buying an additional 7,970 shares during the period. Finally, Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 22,541 shares of the retailer's stock worth $12,735,000 after acquiring an additional 1,126 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 directly owns 12,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $10.22 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $732.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,825,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,037,738. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $730.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $670.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $324.84 billion, a PE ratio of 47.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $476.75 and a fifty-two week high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 30.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Gordon Haskett downgraded Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to an "accumulate" rating and set a $775.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price 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. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale 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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