Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Holdings Lifted by Stevens Capital Management LP

Stevens Capital Management LP raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 120.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,163 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,274 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.5% of Stevens Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,814,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hill Island Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Hill Island Financial LLC now owns 253 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Banco de Sabadell S.A boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Banco de Sabadell S.A now owns 4,575 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,193,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,411 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,209,000 after buying an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,608,000. Finally, Fortis Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Capital Management LLC now owns 6,026 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,522,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $909.26 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $697.27 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $987.55 and a 200-day moving average of $945.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $403.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.39, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,029.00.

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.