Nordea Investment Management AB Grows Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 53.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,490 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,970 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $47,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,325,416 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,141,062,000 after buying an additional 90,107 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,692,035,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,291,557 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,248,384,000 after buying an additional 383,887 shares during the period. Amundi grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 45.0% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,176,606 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,697,000 after acquiring an additional 986,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,145,241 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,911,331,000 after acquiring an additional 34,826 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $965.73 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $844.06 and a 12 month high of $1,067.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $428.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $984.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $938.56.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The retailer reported $4.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.03. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 28.57%. The firm had revenue of $69.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.02 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 27.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Javier Polit sold 2,049 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $867.21, for a total transaction of $1,776,913.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,320,773.08. This trade represents a 16.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $916.32, for a total value of $1,374,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,550,476.80. This represents a 15.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,645 shares of company stock valued at $7,049,302. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $926.00 to $977.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. UBS Group set a $1,175.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $1,100.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,039.13.

Costco Wholesale Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a global chain of membership-only warehouse clubs that sell a wide array of merchandise in bulk at discounted prices. The company’s product mix includes groceries, fresh and frozen food, household goods, electronics, apparel, and seasonal items, augmented by its prominent private-label brand, Kirkland Signature. Costco’s business model centers on annual membership fees and high-volume, low-margin sales, designed to drive repeat purchasing and strong customer loyalty among both consumers and small-business buyers.

Beyond merchandise, Costco provides a range of ancillary services that complement its warehouses, including gasoline stations, pharmacy and optical services, hearing aid centers, photo services, and travel and insurance products.