Legal & General Group Plc Has $2.56 Billion Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Legal & General Group Plc cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,587,466 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 70,917 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.6% of Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.58% of Costco Wholesale worth $2,561,436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Brighton Jones LLC increased 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 valued at $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Burney Co. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Burney Co. now owns 4,263 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,032,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Hendershot Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.8% during the first quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. now owns 747 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $706,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 11.0% during the first quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,252 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,505,000 after acquiring an additional 3,208 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,140.00 to $1,134.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,025.07.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $893.29 on Friday. 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 Corporation has a twelve month low of $871.71 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $395.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.05, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50 day moving average of $929.32 and a 200-day moving average of $963.93.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,410,343.68. The trade was a 28.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total transaction of $2,232,312.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,860,260. The trade was a 54.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.