Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund

United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund increased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,483 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.8% of United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $45,340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $984,000. Stanich Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $214,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,913 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,916,000 after buying an additional 1,590 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $930.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $987.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $946.11. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $412.74 billion, a PE ratio of 54.62, a P/E/G 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 27.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,029.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.