Headlands Technologies LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 59.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,781 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,176,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,049,630,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,099 shares during the period. C WorldWide Group Holding A S purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $390,630,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $297,915,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,088,673 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,180,016,000 after purchasing an additional 323,346 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,161,630 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $656,274,000 after acquiring an additional 300,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $694.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.0 %

COST opened at $729.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $323.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.69, a PEG ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $730.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $666.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 30.35%.

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.