Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 15,123 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,552,390 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 15,123 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.58% of Costco Wholesale worth $1,374,156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,634,627 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,941,708,000 after buying an additional 1,315,174 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,385 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,069,186,000 after acquiring an additional 111,505 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 118,320.2% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,396,524 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,376,513,000 after acquiring an additional 7,390,278 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,851,678 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,150,426,000 after acquiring an additional 256,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,328,844,000. 66.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Patrick J. Callans sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $553.76, for a total value of $1,384,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 67,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,619,131.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.12, for a total transaction of $1,713,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,422 shares in the company, valued at $4,238,852.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Patrick J. Callans sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $553.76, for a total value of $1,384,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 67,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,619,131.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,797,118 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $590.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $261.57 billion, a PE ratio of 41.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $561.88 and a 200-day moving average of $541.10. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $447.90 and a one year high of $591.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 26th. The retailer reported $4.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.79 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $78.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.72 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.10% and a net margin of 2.60%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 17th. Investors of record on Friday, November 3rd will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $510.00 to $525.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $482.00 to $502.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 27th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $619.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $586.43.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.