Capital International Inc. CA Purchases 3,006 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Capital International Inc. CA boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,675 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,006 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $41,851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after acquiring an additional 252,118 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,665,921,000 after buying an additional 149,209 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,182,316,000. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,990,957 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,656,828,000 after acquiring an additional 18,897 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price 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. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Ten investment 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $994.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $702.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $975.99 and a 200 day moving average of $952.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $441.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.40, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 27.09%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 over the last ninety days. Company 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.