Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 455,043 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 0.7% of Vanguard Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.51% of Costco Wholesale worth $38,668,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,380,648,000 after purchasing an additional 162,191 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 324,973 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,077,905 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,820,193,000 after acquiring an additional 43,414 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,075,065 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,726,107,000 after purchasing an additional 70,561 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,899,904 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,657,095,000 after buying an additional 91,649 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.
Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.1 %
Shares of COST traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $929.75. The stock had a trading volume of 1,644,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,823,661. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $987.96 and a 200 day moving average of $946.00. 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 company has a market cap of $412.51 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 52 week low of $697.27 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.
Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale
In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,075.00 price target (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,029.00.
Read Our Latest Analysis on COST
About Costco Wholesale
(
Free Report)
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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