TD Asset Management Inc. Buys 6,121 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

TD Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,198,192 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 6,121 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.0% of TD Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. TD Asset Management Inc. owned 0.27% of Costco Wholesale worth $1,097,867,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,020,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $984,000. Stanich Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $214,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,913 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,916,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.8 %

COST opened at $926.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $410.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $987.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $945.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on COST. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group boosted 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 note on Thursday, December 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,029.00.

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.