Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Position Lifted by Allstate Corp

Allstate Corp grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3,148.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,155 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,750 shares during the period. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $12,054,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. 44 Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,196,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,823,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Miramar Capital LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $929.66 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $988.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $946.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $412.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.59, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $697.27 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97 % 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, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale 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.