BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Grows Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 99,289 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 6,708 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.0% of BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $90,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Morse Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 7,481 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,632,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 7,996 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,088,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Fulcrum Equity Management raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 76.8% in the third quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 633 shares of the retailer's stock worth $561,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, Sculati Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,235,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cowen reiterated 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.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of COST stock traded down $5.91 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $973.32. 1,210,028 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,019,517. The business's fifty day moving average is $971.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $954.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $431.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.15, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $714.41 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 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 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

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.