AIA Group Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 68.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,302 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 5,814 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,104,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,668,069,000 after buying an additional 455,043 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,380,648,000 after purchasing an additional 162,191 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $5,182,316,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,077,905 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,820,193,000 after buying an additional 43,414 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,899,904 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,657,095,000 after buying an additional 91,649 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.1 %

COST stock traded up $10.68 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $965.08. 1,659,542 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,946,434. The company has a market capitalization of $428.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $988.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $947.35. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $697.27 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,075.00 price target (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Nine 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 has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.