Twin Capital Management Inc. Buys 720 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Twin Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,054 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 720 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.9% of Twin Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Twin Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,665,921,000 after acquiring an additional 149,209 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,182,316,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,715,685 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,404,571,000 after acquiring an additional 43,266 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" 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 given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 5.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $916.48 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $988.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $948.42. 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 12 month low of $702.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The company has a market cap of $406.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.82, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95.

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 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 analysts' expectations of $63.02 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.09%.

About Costco Wholesale

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.

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