Norges Bank Invests $5.18 Billion in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,655,883 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $5,182,316,000. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 0.7% of Norges Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.27% of Costco Wholesale as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of COST. United Bank lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,285,000 after buying an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 182.1% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 409 shares of the retailer's stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. NCP Inc. boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.7% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Insight Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $337,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $9.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $929.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,099,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,941,143. The stock has a market capitalization of $412.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.59, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $988.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on COST. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Cowen reiterated 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.