abrdn plc Has $186.14 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

abrdn plc lessened its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 43.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 281,999 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 219,709 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $186,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. United Bank lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.2% during the first quarter. United Bank now owns 5,254 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,026,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 33.6% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 383,691 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $220,948,000 after purchasing an additional 96,566 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 87.1% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at about $333,000. Finally, Next Century Growth Investors LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the first quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 3,414 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,965,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total transaction of $5,487,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total value of $5,487,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,727 shares of company stock worth $8,170,388. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST traded down $1.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $709.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,190,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,668,139. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $476.75 and a 1-year high of $787.08. The stock has a market cap of $314.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.40, a PEG ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $730.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $660.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.65%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on COST. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $691.28.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.