American International Group Inc. Has $63.72 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

American International Group Inc. cut its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST – Get Rating) by 13.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 139,576 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 21,273 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.4% of American International Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. American International Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $63,716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 112.4% in the 4th quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 567 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Wade G W & Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Wade G W & Inc. now owns 13,645 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,229,000 after buying an additional 1,266 shares during the period. Colonial River Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Colonial River Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,953 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $892,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 4,601 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,100,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,553 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,991,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 66.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $575.00 to $535.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 3rd. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $550.00 to $545.00 in a research report on Friday. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $575.00 to $560.00 in a research report on Friday. Northcoast Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $560.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $575.00 to $574.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $547.72.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $17.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $504.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,412,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,879,015. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $443.20 and a 12-month high of $564.75. The company has a market capitalization of $223.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.75, a PEG ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $495.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $492.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 25th. The retailer reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.11. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.58% and a return on equity of 28.66%. The business had revenue of $53.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.17 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 14.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 5th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 4th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 29.98%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.95, for a total transaction of $733,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,934,972.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.95, for a total transaction of $733,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,934,972.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Caton Frates sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $497.35, for a total transaction of $298,410.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,148,552. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,168 shares of company stock worth $2,031,341. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

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Costco Wholesale Corp. engages in the operation of membership warehouses through wholly owned subsidiaries. It operates through the following geographical segments: United States, Canada, and Other International Operations. The company was founded by James D. Sinegal and Jeffrey H. Brotman in 1983 and is headquartered in Issaquah, WA.