American Century Companies Inc. Has $1.29 Billion Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,407,506 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 19,450 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.7% of American Century Companies Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.32% of Costco Wholesale worth $1,289,656,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nwam LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $984,000. Finally, Stanich Group LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $214,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.5 %

COST stock opened at $909.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $403.42 billion, a PE ratio of 53.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $697.27 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $987.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $944.60.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.