Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Acquired by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 242,965 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.6% of Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $240,521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,029,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth approximately $3,095,000. BluePointe Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 46.8% in the first quarter. BluePointe Capital Management LLC now owns 765 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $724,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.4% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 32,571 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,805,000 after buying an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Argus raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,063.88.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:COST opened at $913.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $405.00 billion, a PE ratio of 50.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $871.71 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $937.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $967.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.56%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value of $1,157,994.18. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,373,175. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.