Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Purchased by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 175,569 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 0.9% of State of Michigan Retirement System’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $173,803,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 72.0% in the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at $48,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on COST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.9%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $911.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.34 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $939.53 and its 200-day moving average is $970.40. The company has a market cap of $403.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.05, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.15 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors 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 (DPR) is 28.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total value of $2,526,336.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,410,343.68. This trade represents a 28.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.