Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 58,875 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 917,118 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,875 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.7% of Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $907,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 72.0% in the 2nd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective 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. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Mizuho decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report 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 MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,063.88.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $922.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $408.94 billion, a PE ratio of 50.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $871.71 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $938.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $968.77. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.15 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,373,175. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.