Railway Pension Investments Ltd Has $81.65 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Railway Pension Investments Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 85.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,442 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 51,300 shares during the period. Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $81,646,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,916,118,000 after buying an additional 473,702 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $3,628,694,000. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,802,147,000 after purchasing an additional 285,533 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $2,049,630,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,794,480 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,844,581,000 after purchasing an additional 85,398 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $875.00 target price (up previously from $800.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Citigroup increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 target price (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $805.46.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $5.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $822.08. The stock had a trading volume of 2,598,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,182,416. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $843.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $770.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $364.45 billion, a PE ratio of 50.93, a P/E/G ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.78. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $530.56 and a 52 week high of $896.67.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $848.53, for a total value of $1,272,795.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,327,041.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,350 shares of company stock valued at $2,837,131. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.