Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations Acquires Shares of 4,475 Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,475 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $4,100,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of COST. United Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $5,285,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 182.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 409 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. NCP Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. NCP Inc. now owns 3,423 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,034,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 29,895 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $26,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Insight Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $337,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective 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. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,075.00 price objective (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,029.00.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of COST traded down $9.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $929.66. 2,099,737 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,941,143. The business has a 50 day moving average of $988.07 and a 200 day moving average of $946.54. The company has a market capitalization of $412.47 billion, a PE ratio of 54.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $697.27 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 27.09%.

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.