Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by UniSuper Management Pty Ltd

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 32.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,337 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 5,913 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $22,299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $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 acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $9.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $929.66. 2,099,737 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,941,143. The company has a market cap of $412.47 billion, a PE ratio of 54.59, a PEG 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 quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $988.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $946.54.

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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 the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business'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 value of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on COST. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,029.00.

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.