Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Purchases 4,586 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 10.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,840 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 4,586 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.7% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $49,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Davis R M Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the second quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 107,361 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $106,281,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643 shares during the period. Altman Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 2,141 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,111,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.4% in the second quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,053 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,800,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Shared Vision Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the second quarter. Shared Vision Wealth Group LLC now owns 936 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $880,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.3% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 681,281 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $674,427,000 after acquiring an additional 34,093 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of COST stock opened at $922.74 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $871.71 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $938.12 and a 200-day moving average of $968.65. The company has a market capitalization of $408.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.67, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.15 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,373,175. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on COST. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,140.00 to $1,134.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,063.88.

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.