Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 21.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 428,956 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 75,023 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 0.8% of Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned approximately 0.10% of Costco Wholesale worth $380,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Worldly Partners Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Worldly Partners Management LLC now owns 90,416 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $80,156,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 136,363 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $120,888,000 after buying an additional 2,483 shares in the last quarter. Infusive Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,486,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,873,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 338,207 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $299,669,000 after acquiring an additional 3,263 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $971.88 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $582.83 and a 12-month high of $976.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company has a market capitalization of $430.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $907.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $871.42.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on COST. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target for the company. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $908.81.

About Costco Wholesale

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.