Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Has $13.98 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,186 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 485 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Steph & Co. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $729.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $323.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $476.75 and a 52-week high of $787.08. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $730.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $666.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. Research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 30.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $694.48.

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.