AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Acquires 11,768 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 9.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 135,038 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,768 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $133,680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 10.0% in the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 789 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $746,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 9.4% in the first quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 75,252 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $71,172,000 after buying an additional 6,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 16.5% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 150,226 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $139,659,000 after buying an additional 21,249 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total value of $2,526,336.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,410,343.68. This represents a 28.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were 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 directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,373,175 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $932.14 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $945.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $972.16. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.34 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The company has a market cap of $413.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.19, a PEG ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 0.98.

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, beating 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 firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,068.15.

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.