Railway Pension Investments Ltd Lowers Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Railway Pension Investments Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,542 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,500 shares during the quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $57,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,165,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 14.8% in the first quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 3,100 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,932,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.9% in the first quarter. Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,425 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mullooly Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at $280,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 3rd. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price target for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,025.07.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $912.90 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $922.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $959.11. The company has a market capitalization of $404.58 billion, a PE ratio of 50.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $871.71 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value of $1,157,994.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.