Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 84.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 191,377 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 87,392 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 0.6% of Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $175,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 1,024 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $938,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 21,472 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $19,674,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 214,674 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $196,699,000 after acquiring an additional 4,502 shares during the last quarter. Next Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. Next Capital Management LLC now owns 324 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GM Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,679 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,371,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $904.05 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $401.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $988.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $944.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,030.43.

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.