Ameriprise Financial Inc. Acquires 10,703 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,555,661 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,703 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.35% of Costco Wholesale worth $1,544,040,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,356,271 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,920,107,000 after acquiring an additional 711,560 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,325,416 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,141,062,000 after acquiring an additional 90,107 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,275,056 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,124,263,000 after acquiring an additional 150,844 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,692,035,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,332,009 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,097,127,000 after buying an additional 18,045 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total transaction of $2,232,312.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,860,260. This trade represents a 54.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $884.47 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $392.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.37, a P/E/G ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $916.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $951.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.12 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.07. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The company had revenue of $67.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday. Argus upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,000.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Daiwa Capital Markets cut their price target 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, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 29th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $998.70.

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.