Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 28.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 130,403 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 29,043 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $119,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST traded up $8.62 on Tuesday, reaching $954.40. The stock had a trading volume of 2,039,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,946,144. The business's 50-day moving average price is $988.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $947.08. The stock has a market cap of $423.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. 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.

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Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 27.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 11,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,029.00.

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.