World Investment Advisors Acquires 1,560 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,081 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,560 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $17,317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,195,415,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 838.9% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,125,405 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,282,182,000 after acquiring an additional 5,472,968 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 907.1% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 1,785,080 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,539,346,000 after acquiring an additional 1,607,833 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1,586.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,137,436 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $980,857,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 45.0% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,176,606 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,697,000 after purchasing an additional 986,182 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $1,014.96 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $989.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $940.35. The firm has a market cap of $450.29 billion, a PE ratio of 52.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.99. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $844.06 and a 1 year high of $1,067.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The retailer reported $4.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.03. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 28.57%. The firm had revenue of $69.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.02 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, December 22nd. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,115.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,175.00 to $1,315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $926.00 to $977.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,039.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $939.00, for a total value of $1,408,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,837 shares in the company, valued at $42,101,943. This represents a 3.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $916.32, for a total value of $1,374,480.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,550,476.80. This represents a 15.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 5,038 shares of company stock valued at $4,790,896 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a global chain of membership-only warehouse clubs that sell a wide array of merchandise in bulk at discounted prices. The company’s product mix includes groceries, fresh and frozen food, household goods, electronics, apparel, and seasonal items, augmented by its prominent private-label brand, Kirkland Signature. Costco’s business model centers on annual membership fees and high-volume, low-margin sales, designed to drive repeat purchasing and strong customer loyalty among both consumers and small-business buyers.

Beyond merchandise, Costco provides a range of ancillary services that complement its warehouses, including gasoline stations, pharmacy and optical services, hearing aid centers, photo services, and travel and insurance products.