National Pension Service Increases Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

National Pension Service boosted its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 12.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 971,035 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 109,390 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.8% of National Pension Service’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. National Pension Service owned about 0.22% of Costco Wholesale worth $961,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairbanks Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fairbanks Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,609 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,573,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 205.5% in the 2nd quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC now owns 779 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $772,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. VeraBank N.A. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 6.4% in the second quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 2,443 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,418,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. STF Management LP boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% in the second quarter. STF Management LP now owns 6,770 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,702,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cascade Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 10.3% during the second quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,018 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,998,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $913.86 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $937.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $967.78. The stock has a market cap of $405.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $871.71 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.15 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Argus lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,063.88.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total value of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at $6,410,343.68. This trade represents a 28.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,373,175. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.