Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by Westwood Holdings Group Inc.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,730 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $11,524,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $3,628,694,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,049,630,000 after buying an additional 3,100,099 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth $510,353,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3,647.1% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 567,641 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $374,688,000 after buying an additional 552,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,360,168 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,640,940,000 after buying an additional 485,051 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,350 shares of company stock worth $2,837,131. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $970.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $805.46.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ COST traded up $5.19 on Friday, hitting $822.08. 2,598,467 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,182,416. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $530.56 and a fifty-two week high of $896.67. The company has a market cap of $364.45 billion, a PE ratio of 50.93, a PEG ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $843.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $770.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

Costco Wholesale 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.