Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stake Raised by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 762,208 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 59,164 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.7% of Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.17% of Costco Wholesale worth $698,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. United Bank raised its stake 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 period. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. NCP Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 25.8% in the third quarter. NCP Inc. now owns 3,423 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,034,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.7% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 29,895 shares of the retailer's stock worth $26,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Insight Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth about $337,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST traded down $9.09 on Friday, hitting $929.66. The stock had a trading volume of 2,099,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,941,143. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $412.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.59, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company's 50-day moving average is $988.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $946.54. 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 (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. On average, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on COST. Raymond James boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of 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. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,029.00.

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.