Triglav Skladi D.O.O. Invests $7.06 Million in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Triglav Skladi D.O.O. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,700 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $7,055,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,670,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Grassi Investment Management boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Grassi Investment Management now owns 5,155 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,723,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,441,000 after purchasing an additional 837 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 18,842 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $17,264,000 after purchasing an additional 2,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Redmond Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,214,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on COST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,025.83 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $788.20 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $455.14 billion, a PE ratio of 60.24, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $961.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $968.39.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

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.