Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 482,032 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 10,064 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $318,180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,049,630,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100,099 shares during the last quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth approximately $390,630,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $297,915,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 18.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,088,673 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,180,016,000 after acquiring an additional 323,346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 34.8% during the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,161,630 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $656,274,000 after purchasing an additional 300,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Gordon Haskett lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock traded up $0.83 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $723.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 540,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,027,080. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $730.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $669.72. The company has a market capitalization of $320.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.12, a PEG ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $476.75 and a fifty-two week high of $787.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.