Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Purchases 9,195 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,157,350 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,195 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 0.6% of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.26% of Costco Wholesale worth $847,909,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 1,696 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,243,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.2% in the first quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 574 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Naviter Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 9.4% during the first quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 3,336 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,444,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Nvest Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 36.2% during the 1st quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 1,739 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,274,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Security Advisor Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 781 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $573,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock traded down $0.40 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $858.96. 104,309 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,952,790. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $804.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $742.15. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $524.63 and a twelve month high of $873.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $380.80 billion, a PE ratio of 53.22, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $940.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $905.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $875.00 price objective (up from $800.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $758.70.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 completion of 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.