Fmr LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Fmr LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,457,824 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 149,209 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 0.5% of Fmr LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,665,921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Garrison Point Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Garrison Point Advisors LLC now owns 4,482 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,107,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Westwood Wealth Management bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Alcosta Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,896,000. Titleist Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 52.9% in the 4th quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 610 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Finally, Darden Wealth Group Inc boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Darden Wealth Group Inc now owns 665 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $609,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 5.2 %

COST stock opened at $916.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $406.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $702.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $988.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $948.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 target price (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Nine investment 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,029.00.

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.