CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Has $354.82 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 14.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 387,435 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 66,434 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 0.6% of CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.09% of Costco Wholesale worth $354,818,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 2.8 %

NASDAQ COST traded up $26.75 on Friday, reaching $994.50. The stock had a trading volume of 2,705,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,016,803. The company has a market capitalization of $441.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.40, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $975.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $952.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $702.00 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted 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 report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,024.03.

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.