State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System Acquires 1,730 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 492,940 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,730 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 0.6% of State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System owned about 0.11% of Costco Wholesale worth $244,927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. United Bank increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 9.2% during the first quarter. United Bank now owns 5,254 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,026,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 33.6% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 383,691 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $220,948,000 after purchasing an additional 96,566 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 87.1% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $333,000. Finally, Next Century Growth Investors LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the first quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 3,414 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,965,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 66.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $567.00 to $597.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, August 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $475.00 to $510.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $559.76 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $248.03 billion, a PE ratio of 41.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50 day moving average of $549.66 and a 200-day moving average of $518.26. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $447.90 and a 1-year high of $571.16.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 25th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 24th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 30.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.00, for a total value of $834,145.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,104,357. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

About Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Australia, Spain, France, Iceland, China, and Taiwan. It offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.