Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 5,749,879 Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Norges Bank purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 5,749,879 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $5,692,035,000. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.7% of Norges Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 72.0% in the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Roth Capital set a $907.00 price target on Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,025.07.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total value of $2,526,336.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $908.26 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $871.71 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $402.52 billion, a PE ratio of 49.88, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $923.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $960.10.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

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.