Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 99,289 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 6,708 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.0% of BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $90,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of COST. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC now owns 10,493 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,614,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 45,675 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $41,851,000 after acquiring an additional 3,006 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 79.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 775,541 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $710,624,000 after acquiring an additional 343,390 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,990,957 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,656,828,000 after purchasing an additional 18,897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coastline Trust Co boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 9,705 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,892,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on COST shares. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 2.8 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $994.50 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $975.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $952.32. The stock has a market cap of $441.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.40, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $702.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted 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 business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.