Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Has $50.53 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lowered its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 3.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,996 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,146 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $50,528,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,380,648,000 after acquiring an additional 162,191 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,252,274,000 after buying an additional 324,973 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,534,464,000 after buying an additional 7,364,453 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,650,562 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,102,941,000 after acquiring an additional 88,550 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,127 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,013,394,000 after acquiring an additional 125,444 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Melius Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a "hold" rating and a $950.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $880.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $1,016.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $931.89.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $1.29 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $994.69. The company had a trading volume of 1,748,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,920,007. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $623.21 and a 52 week high of $1,007.80. The business's 50 day moving average price is $920.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $881.93. The stock has a market cap of $440.72 billion, a PE ratio of 60.80, a PEG ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.86 EPS. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 28.00%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.