Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 15.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,514 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,909 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 0.6% of Metis Global Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $14,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $2,049,630,000 after buying an additional 3,100,099 shares in the last quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth $390,630,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $297,915,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,088,673 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,180,016,000 after purchasing an additional 323,346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 34.8% in the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,161,630 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $11.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $743.90. The company had a trading volume of 2,323,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,605,560. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08. The stock has a market cap of $329.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.65, a PEG ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $730.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $673.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research 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. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 30.35%.

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.