Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Raises Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 174.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,730 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,911 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Aspire Private Capital LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 122.0% in the 3rd quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 91 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’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 transaction of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $0.93 on Wednesday, hitting $801.86. 1,183,126 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,978,658. The stock has a market cap of $355.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.66, a PEG ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $738.35 and its 200 day moving average is $692.35. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $476.75 and a 52-week high of $806.35.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $810.00 to $820.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $696.88.

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.