Bessemer Group Inc. Purchases 101,220 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 13.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 876,584 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 101,220 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.5% of Bessemer Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $829,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. May Barnhard Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $485,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 188 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 45.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 117,254 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $107,436,000 after purchasing an additional 36,384 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock opened at $986.54 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $437.51 billion, a PE ratio of 55.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1,004.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $981.29. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $793.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of several research reports. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Nine equities research 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.