Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $301.71 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 38.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 329,277 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 91,596 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.0% of Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $301,707,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $1,018.13 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $788.20 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $451.73 billion, a PE ratio of 59.78, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $971.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $971.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.36%.

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.