Mizuho Securities USA LLC Increases Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 46.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,993 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 13,245 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.7% of Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $38,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 443,747 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $393,391,000 after purchasing an additional 6,495 shares during the last quarter. United Bank raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,285,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,652 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $14,772,000 after buying an additional 2,156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 36.5% in the 3rd quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 962 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $853,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $909.26 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $987.55 and its 200 day moving average is $944.60. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $697.27 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $403.42 billion, a PE ratio of 53.39, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price 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. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays boosted their target price 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, Loop Capital decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

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.