Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,383 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,081 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $14,549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $40,332,515,000 after purchasing an additional 443,101 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,717,744,000 after buying an additional 8,152,528 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,817,573,000 after buying an additional 587,303 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,990,957 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,656,828,000 after buying an additional 18,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,695,796,000 after purchasing an additional 191,985 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $980.98 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $977.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $985.43. The company has a market cap of $435.05 billion, a PE ratio of 55.64, a P/E/G ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.96. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $837.63 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,050.00.

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.