NEOS Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 17.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,560 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,742 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 1.1% of NEOS Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $48,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 24,337 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $22,299,000 after acquiring an additional 5,913 shares during the last quarter. Sava Infond d.o.o. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,505,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1,900.4% in the 4th quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 4,721 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,326,000 after buying an additional 4,485 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 762,208 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $698,647,000 after buying an additional 59,164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cottage Street Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Cottage Street Advisors LLC now owns 330 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial upped 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $929.75 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The company has a market cap of $412.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.59, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $987.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $946.00.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.09%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.