Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Has $178.73 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 195,066 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,226 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.7% of Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $178,733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson upped their price target 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. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,025.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $965.19 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $428.24 billion, a PE ratio of 56.68, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $984.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $948.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $702.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Costco Wholesale 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.